The Bété Statue, Daloa region, Ivory Coast. This wooden sculpture depicts a standing female figure, its proportions emphasizing a large head, a very long neck, and short but powerful legs. The face, understated and introspective, features a high forehead, narrow, almost closed eyes, a short nose, and a closed mouth. The hairstyle is arranged in broad geometric sections covered with fine parallel striations, while an oblique motif appears on the neck. The bent arms extend slightly away from the torso and end in large, forward-facing hands with incised fingers. The surface has a glossy, dark brown patina, interrupted by traces of wear. Red cords, rows of beads, and a few cowrie shells encircle the neck, waist, and one knee, thus linking the sculpted form with added elements. Historically, this work is among the rare statuary attributed to the Bété communities of west-central Ivory Coast, particularly around Daloa. Male and female Bété figures in wood, dating mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries, are preserved in several museum collections, but their meaning remains less well documented than that of the masks. Some examples have been interpreted as representations of important people or ancestors, without a single function being able to be extended to the entire production. The ornaments added to this statue suggest that it was dressed and cared for as a socially active object; Lit.: Burkhard Gottschalk: Kunst aus Schwarz-Afrika. Zeugnisse der Meisterschaft afrikanischer Schnitzer aus privaten Sammlungen. Band 2, Düsseldorf 2007. Selected Bibliography Himmelheber, Hans: Negerkunst und Negerkünstler. Braunschweig, 1960. Fischer, Eberhard & Homberger, Lorenz: Die Kunst der Elfenbeinküste. Museum Rietberg, Zurich, 1981. Kerchache, Jacques; Paudrat, Jean-Louis; Stephan, Lucien: L'Art africain. Mazenod, Paris, 1988. Roy, Christopher D.: Art of the Upper Volta Rivers. University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, 1987. Vogel, Susan Mullin (Ed.): Africa Explores: 20th Century African Art. Center for African Art, New York, 1991. Some of the information is generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history. Informant: Bakari Bouaflé Invt. No. MAZ19980