A male Baule komian statue, Côte d’Ivoire, region of Beomi, seated on a four-legged stool, between the feet a bowl with cowrie shells and the red seeds of passion fruits (barely visible because of the encrustations) and cowrie shells in his out-stretched left hand which is - like his right hand - resting on his knees. The navel is protruding, two straps are stretched diagonally across the stomach and muscular chest, and twisted strips of fabric are tied around the waist and neck, a finely crafted face, half-closed eyes, a straight nose and protruding lips, he wears an unusual headdress decorated with cowrie shells, silver-coloured nails, mirrors and a tuft of animal hair on his forehead; a beautiful patina on the frequently touched areas, such as the arms, several cracks due to dryness. Cowrie shells (which were used across West Africa) are placed in the hands could indicate connections to fertility or prosperity symbolism. Lit.: Susan M. Vogel: Baule: African Art Western Eye, 1997; Bernard de Grunne: Über den Baule-Stil und seine Meister. In: Eberhard Fischer/Lorenz Homberger: Afrikanische Meister. Kunst der Elfenbeinküste, Zurüch 2014, p. 81-106; Alain-Michel Boyer: Baule. Visions of Africa, Milan 2008. CAB31119