Baule Grasshopper Resting on Leaf

The grasshopper has paused mid-meal. The leaf is its table.

Baule metalworkers of the Ivory Coast, West Africa, cast this grasshopper resting on a leaf in bronze in the early 20th century. Small cast animals like this were commonly made as lost-wax miniatures, often for personal keeping or as trade pieces. The insect lies along a pointed leaf with a stem at one end, its long antennae raised and its folded back legs bent into sharp angles. The surface is dark and mottled, with green-brown tones in the recesses.

About 7 inches long. It will happily live on a desk and eat nothing.