Ivory Coast
Baule

Wood
Mid 20th century
Height: 22 inches
Idiophone – Struck Directly  – Slit Drum

This exceptional carving from the Baule people of the Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), is a wooden slit drum in an anthropomorphic shape. It has a particularly distinctive blending of sculpture and function in that it is a drum to be played and a figure to be admired. Slit drums found throughout Africa are carved from a solid piece of wood and then laboriously hollowed out. This drum has a central slit with a narrower slit along each side parallel to the center rectangular opening. The drum would be beaten on the edges of the slits to obtain different tones that will resonate with depth or to produce sharp high notes. The face is a classically carved Baule with scarification over the bridge of the nose and at the sides of the eyes. The elegant hairstyle is beautifully rendered with fine incised lines. The male’s beard is shown with subtle restraint. The legs are well modeled with naturalistic feet. The back of the body of the drum is marked with scarification. It shows slight wear on the back from having been laid down at times however the figure will stand.