H x W x D: 15 x 6.3 x 3.8 cm (5 7/8 x 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 in.)
Type:
Sculpture
Geography:
Ghana
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
As used on a narrow-strip loom, this pulley was both functional and aesthetic. It eased the movements of the heddles in separating the warp threads to allow the shuttle carrying the weft thread to pass through. The pulley also called attention to the skills of the sculptor who carved it, advertising his availability to undertake commissions to carve other figurative art, such as masks.
Description:
Wood heddle pulley in the form of a female figure with a flattened, oval head, ringed neck, bared breasts, short arms and a pleated skirt.
Provenance:
Philip Ravenhill, collected Côte d'Ivoire, before 1985 to 1996
Exhibition History:
Wrapped in Pride: Ghanaian Kente and African American Identity, Newark Museum, September 15, 1998-January 3, 1999; Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles, February 1-August 15, 1999; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 12, 1999-January 2, 2000; Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, May 13-July 30, 2000; Anchorage Museum of History and Art, November 19, 2000-February 25, 2001; Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, April 14-July 15, 2001; Oakland Museum of California, October 13, 2001-January 15, 2002; Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, February 23-June 16, 2002
Gifts to the National Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1997-January 4, 1998
Published References:
Ravenhill, Philip. 1998. Gifts to the National Collection of African Art. Exhibition brochure, no. 12.
Ross, Doran H. 1998. Wrapped in Pride. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, p. 90, no. 6.44.
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