25 - Rare Porte Baoulé, Côte d’Ivoire

Rare Porte Baoulé, Côte d’Ivoire Wood, natural white, blue, and yellow ochre pigments H. 145 cm; W. 50 cm Georges Loiseau, a notary who had been practicing in Côte d’Ivoire since 1953, was a passionate collector (a pleonasm) to whom Ivorian antique dealers reserved “the most marvelous of their finds” (Bertrand Goy). This is evidenced by this veritable domestic tableau in low and medium relief: this Baoulé door displays a richly detailed language on the wood, where geometry, the animal world, and protective figures seem to compose a truly symbolic scene. Here, the design is arranged with great precision around a succession of blue and white triangles forming a continuous graphic rhythm along the lower portion. In the center, a small zoomorphic mask with attributes reminiscent of a buffalo appears in medium relief. Above it, two small birds with stylized bodies, positioned face-to-face, seem to be pecking. A more imposing rabbit with slender ears crowns the composition. This deliberate combination of animals, masks, and geometric symbols appears to contribute to a visual vocabulary in which the qualities attributed to the depicted beings can be suggested without necessarily constituting a single narrative. Provenance - Anne and Georges Loiseau, Paris - Private French collection