Baule Wood Slingshot, Ivory Coast, Based

A slingshot, for hunting birds. The Baule gave it a face anyway.

The Baule of Ivory Coast are admired for the refinement of their figurative carving, a sensibility that extends even to modest everyday objects. This 20th-century wooden slingshot has a forked handle that forms a smooth, rounded arch topped by a long neck and an elegant head. The face is calm and elongated, with downcast eyes, a fine straight nose and a small mouth. A crested coiffure is set at an angle.

Seven and a half inches tall. Warm honey-brown, darker in the recesses.

Fine manners, for a weapon.