Accession Number
1971/2.35

Title
Gong Striker

Artist(s)
Baulé

Artist Nationality
Baule (culture)

Object Creation Date
n.d.

Medium & Support
carved wood

Dimensions
12 7/16 in x 1 3/8 in x 1 13/16 in (31.6 cm x 3.5 cm x 4.6 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase assisted by the Friends of the Museum of Art

Label copy
This elongated figure of a man wearing a loin cloth was used to strike a small bronze gong. The flattened arch projecting from the back of the head and neck, seen as an extension of the coiffure, was designed to administer the blows of percussion. Its simplified form demonstrates the basic conventions of Baule figural style: arms with long-fingered hands are carved in relief on the body, and bulbous legs are balanced by the curving back of the slender torso.

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Primary Object Type
figure

Collection Area
African

Rights
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Keywords
carvings (visual works)
gongs
woodwork
woodworking