Heddle pulley "kono" · Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3037493
sold
EUR 2,700
Provenance
collected in situ in Bamako, Mali (1976)Stacy Collection, Washington D.C., USA
Size
H: 22 cm
H: 8.7 inch
Description
wood, encrusted blackish brown patina, crowned with a girl’s head (a motif much favoured by this ethnic group) with fine carved coiffure arranged in bow-shaped contours, chignon with drilled hole for suspension, complete with crossbar and bobbin, slightly dam., slight abrasion (nose), traces of usage (hole for suspension/bobbin);
as with the Senufo the Guro’s heddle pulleys do not have any ritual or magic meaning but are in fact made as “l’art pour l’art” objects whose only purpose is to provide aesthetic pleasure.
Comparing literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Weaving in Africa, South of the Sahara, Munich 1987, p, 156