Slingshot

Baule people, Côte d'Ivoire, African

20th century

  • Titles Slingshot (Descriptive)
  • Medium carved wood
  • Dimensions 6 1/4 × 3 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (15.9 × 8.9 × 3.2 cm)
  • Credit Line Gift of Herbert Weiss in memory of Alfred L. Scheinberg, 1992.70.6
  • Work Type slingshot
  • Classification Weapons and Ammunition

See More of the Collection

geometric
Standing female figure with flexed knees, arms bent, resting on abdomen, wearing small cap, earrings, and with diamond-shaped mark on forehead. Nails and blades protruding from breasts and front of torso, and holes remaining where some nails removed; umbilical area has small animal skull covered over with organic material. Large nail protruding from back of figure, which is split along the spine, from neck to buttocks.
Standing Figure, Temne people, African, wood, glass beads, British West Africa halfpenny coin and cord
Face mask with rabbit features. Narrow vertical oval ears painted red with white interiors; protruding conical black eyes surrounded by concentric black rings with white pigment in-between; protruding open triangular mouth/snout, painted black, adorned with small incised triangles painted white and red. Oval perimeter of back of mask pierced with multiple holes to enable attachment of mask to dancer's head as well as attachment of fiber costume. This type of mask is worn by men during funeral or initiation ceremonies. Animal masks commemorate encounters that people have had with ancestors who appeared in the form of an animal.