A female Baule statue, Bouaké region, central Côte d’Ivoire. The figure is standing in a composed frontal posture with the arms slightly abducted from the body, a restrained positioning that creates a subtle opening of the silhouette while maintaining overall symmetry and stillness. The proportions are carefully balanced, with emphasis placed on the torso and head as the primary zones of expression. Incl stand. The surface is painted red, providing a unifying chromatic ground that is punctuated by black-painted details. The hair, pubic hair, nipples, eyebrows, eyelids, and pupils are all rendered in black, creating a dense system of visual markers that articulate both anatomy and identity. The contrast between red and black enhances legibility and gives rhythm to the figure’s surface, guiding the viewer’s attention across key anatomical points. The face is carefully structured, with particular emphasis on the eyes, where painted eyelids and pupils reinforce a sense of alert presence. The inclusion of painted bodily features such as nipples and pubic hair reflects an aesthetic tradition in which idealized femininity and bodily completeness are explicitly represented rather than concealed. The result is a controlled but expressive articulation of the female body as both physical and symbolic form. In Baule sculptural practice, such figures often relate to ideals of beauty, moral order, and spiritual presence. The standing posture, with slightly open arms, suggests readiness and balance rather than action or movement. The combination of polychrome treatment and precise anatomical detailing situates the figure within a regional tradition in which color and form work together to define identity and enhance ritual efficacy. Literature: Susan Vogel, Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. Philippe Peltier, Art of the Baule. Paris: Editions Dapper, 2000. Robert Goldwater, Sculpture of West Africa. New York: Museum of Primitive Art, 1964. Ezio Bassani and William Fagg, Africa: The Art of a Continent. Munich: Prestel, 1995. Jacques Kerchache, Jean-Louis Paudrat and Lucien Stephan, L’Art Africain. Paris: Citadelles & Mazenod, 1988. Eberhard Fischer and Hans Himmelheber, Die Kunst der Baule. Zürich: Museum Rietberg, 1986. Till Förster, Kunst der Elfenbeinküste: Baule und Nachbarn. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 1990s studies. This description was created with the help of our local informant Bakari Bouaflé and additionally with the aid of AI. Despite careful individual verification of the information provided by our informant, errors or inaccuracies may occur in the description due to the use of artificial intelligence. MAZ13139