Ivory Coast, Côte d'Ivoire, 20th Century
A finely sculptural and tactile Baule (Côte d'Ivoire) cast bronze miniature maskette head in the Akan-related lost-wax tradition, modeled with a serene high-domed forehead, finely arched scarification brow ridges with central comb-bar tattoo, almond-shaped open eyes with raised rims, a narrow ridged nose, and a small oval pursed mouth. The head is crowned by a coronet of coiled-wire / spring-form vertical projections — a stylized rendering of the elaborate Baule royal coiffure — flanked by twin coiled-wire spiral disc ears at the temples. The reverse is hollow, revealing the original lost-wax casting interior.
The piece belongs to the celebrated Baule lost-wax bronze tradition of central Côte d'Ivoire, in which the Baule — close cultural cousins of the Asante / Akan peoples to the east — produced finely modeled bronze and brass miniature heads, figures, and pendants using the cire perdue technique. Such miniature maskette heads served as personal prestige pendants, divination objects, ancestor-shrine ornaments, and dance-costume attachments, and reflect the Baule canon of idealized human beauty (ndoma) — calm features, lowered gaze, and refined coiffure — that Susan Vogel identifies as the cardinal aesthetic of Baule portraiture in Baule: African Art / Western Eyes (1997).
Condition: Excellent stable ethnographic condition. Patina rich, untouched, with attractive bronze highlights on the high points of the brow, nose, and coiled-wire elements. All coiled-wire crown projections and spiral ear discs intact. Securely mounted on the custom pedestal.
Dimensions 2-1/4 in H (mask alone); 3-3/8 in H overall on custom base
Provenance: From the estate of Jacques (1921-2023) and Frances Crampon (1922-2025). Captain Crampon was born in Belgium, joined the Merchant Marine, and eventually became a Captain in the US Navy, on search and rescue ships. He and his wife, Frances, a singer and actress, met when she was on a USO tour to Japan. Together they traveled the world, living for several years in Tokyo and Capetown. They were avid collectors of Asian, pre-Columbian and ancient and fine art. They also had an extensive collection of maps. Jacques and Frances settled down in the heart of Manhattan's Greenwich Village, where they remained until their deaths, after very full and interesting lives:
