A Baule Maternity figure, Ivory Coast, village Beomi, sitting on a stool placed on an oval base, she is carrying an infant in her hands, placed on her thighs, her strong, slender, torso is mounted by a thick cylindric neck, who carries a large oval shaped head, the features of the face are calm, serene, a closed mouth at the end of a large jaw, half closed eyes looking downwards, the hairdo is pulled back in a stylish manner with a side bun to the right. The face, abdomen, neck, back and chest are covered with scarifications, sign of beauty and status in Baule culture; some wear throughout the sculpture, sign of use, cracks, some remnants of sacrificial patina. Certificate of provenance. “To articulate historians, the most consistent features of Baule art is a kind of peaceful containment. Faces tend to have downcast eyes and figures most often hold their ams against the body. Among their abundant art forms, the Baule people continue to place the greatest value on masks and figure sculptures, which remain the only sculptural art still widely used in Baule villages. While there is a difference between the Baule view of their objects and that of Western connoisseurs, there are points of agreement. Aesthetic appreciation is one: Baule artist, and individual owners of objects, certainly sometimes enjoy the beauty of these objects and the skill it took coproduce them. Ornaments above the face are chosen for their beauty and have no iconographic significance” Lit: Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. Susan M.Vogel 1997 p.141.