Guro Heddle Pulley, Côte d'Ivoire

Like many heddle pulleys made in Côte d'Ivoire, this functional object was embellished with delicate ornamentation to provide delight to the weaver using it. The stylized form and beautifully carved details throughout this piece highlight the highly public nature of weaving. When being used one can imagine it incited people to nian dan, or "take a good, thorough look" (Vogel, Baule: African Art, Western Eyes, New Haven, 1997, p. 272). 

Carved heddle pulleys made a public statement about the weaver's success as well as serving the practical purpose of lifting the warp threads. The delicate carving displayed here, from the zig-zagging details on the head to the scarifications on the face and neck, extending to the patterns on the bottom portion of the pulley are rendered exquisitely suggesting that this pulley may have been reserved for a particularly successful and prestigious weaver.