Crown

The Baule are essentially an egalitarian people who live in independent villages and vest authority in the "notables." These dignitaries lead a cluster of villages and distinguish themselves with fine handwoven cloth and gold regalia, including crowns, jewelry, handheld objects, flywhisks, and footwear (fig. 23). The regalia may be made of pure gold or wood covered with gold leaf. Crowns take the form of a pillbox or narrow headband. The notables' crowns are made of imported velvet and decorated with small figurative or geometric wooden plaques covered with gold leaf. The rectangular plaques may represent the gold beads found on prestige necklaces. Called srala (bamboo door), the shape replicates the bamboo screen that is hung at the entrance to a bedroom in traditional village houses. As a screen "sees" both inside and outside the bedroom, a notable must know all that is happening within his village and beyond.(28) An animal carved in full relief typically sits atop a crown. This pillbox crown is topped with an elephant, a fitting metaphor for political leadership.

The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art, cat. 12, pp. 68-69.

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NOTES:

28. Garrard, in Barbier, Jean-Paul, ed. Art of Côte d’Ivoire from the Collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum. 2 vols. Geneva: Barbier-Mueller Museum, 1993. p. 163.