Baule Wood Slingshot, Ivory Coast, Based

Smooth fork on top and a tiny face peeking out at the bottom.

This wooden slingshot on a base is Baule, and dates to the 20th century. It is ivory coast, west africa. Slingshots in West Africa were generally used to scare birds from crops or to hunt small animals, and boys often carried them. Polished red-brown wood with an open Y-shaped fork at the top and a stem cut into notched, diamond-shaped bands. A small carved face sits at the foot, mounted on a compact black base. It is 3.25 inches wide, 2 deep and 8 high.

The face turned up at the very end, and not a moment early.