Baule Wood Slingshot, Ivory Coast, Based

Slender figure with a small head, tall as a wading bird on splayed legs.

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. Pale brown wooden form with a narrow oval head, a long neck-like body and two legs flaring wide at the base. A vertical split line runs down the front, and the surface has a dry, worn texture on a black stand. It is 4 inches wide, 3.25 deep and 8.75 high.

Long legs, small head, and no apologies.