id:			147486
accession number:	1973.219
share license status:	Copyrighted
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1973.219
updated:		2022-01-04 16:47:14.018000

Heddle Pulley (bird), c. 1935. Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Baule-style carver. Wood and metal; overall: 21.6 cm (8 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White 1973.219

title:				Heddle Pulley (bird)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1935
creation date earliest:		1930
creation date latest:		1940
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Katherine C. White
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Baule-style carver
technique:	Wood and metal
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Implements
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 21.6 cm (8 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review: 1973
	opening date:   1974-01-30T05:00:00
	<i>Year in Review: 1973</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 30-March 17, 1974).

	title:		Stories From Storage
	opening date:   2021-02-07T05:00:00
	<i>Stories From Storage</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 76, repr.<br>CMA 1974: "Year in Review 1973," CMA Bulletin LXI Feb., 1974), p. 73, no. 15, repr. p. 70.

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PROVENANCE

	Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1973
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1973-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
There are eleven species of hornbills in Côte d'Ivoire, where this bird-topped pulley was carved.

digital description: 
The heddle pulley, a working element of a narrow-band loom, bears a miniature sculpture. Heddle pulleys support and separate threads during weaving. Mounted above the weaver, the pulleys allow him to glance up at an object of inspiring beauty, rather than pure functionality. This pully depicts a slender-beaked hornbill reaching toward its belly and may allude to fertility. Besides inspiring weavers, these publicly visible miniature sculptures reportedly acted as “advertisements” for carvers in parts of West Africa.

wall description: 
Pulleys support the cords that operate men's horizontal looms. But sculpted ones do more than this. The beauty of the delicately rendered human, and bird heads and masks inspires the weaver as he works with the pulley facing him.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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