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HOME :
African & Tribal Art :
Guro, Yaure : Guro Wooden Heddle Pulley
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Guro Wooden Heddle Pulley - SP.651
Origin: Central Ivory Coast
Circa: 20
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
10.5" (26.7cm) high
Collection: African
Medium: Wood
£2,400.00
Location: UAE
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| Description |
"Nobody likes to live without beautiful things,"
replied a Guro weaver when asked why he hung
a
decoratively carved pulley on his wooden post
loom set up beneath a mango tree. The
decorative features of West African heddle
pulleys -- devices that hold the heddles in
looms
-- are created solely for aesthetic satisfaction,
and have no ritual or magical purpose. The
delicately carved figure on the pulley peers down
at the weaver as he works and becomes his
constant visual companion. The formal
composition of these small pieces shows great
virtuosity and variation: the artists strive for
originality, ingenuity, elegance, and imaginative
effects. Naturalistic faces occur rarely on pulleys.
Instead, carvers draw upon a wide repertoire of
facial styles that appear on other spiritual
statues
and masks. This heddle pulley takes on the form
of a gorgeous young woman. Her hair has been
pulled together into a spherical top-knot held in
place by a square-shaped bead. Overall, this
pulley shows the delicacy, smoothness of finish,
and skillful composition that are prized by
African carvers.
- (SP.651)
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