Baule Wood Slingshot, Ivory Coast, Based

Baule carvers saw no reason a tool should be dull. Give the slingshot a figure. Give the figure a face.

Ivory Coast, 20th century, nine inches of wood on a black stand. A wide, deep U-shaped fork in reddish-brown rises above the head of a small standing figure. Arms close to the body. Feet planted on a drum-shaped base. The face is darkened with black pigment, the torso and arms dotted white, a touch of red at the waist.

Practical objects, the Baule understood, can be personal. This one is also a little bit of a joker.