The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 4, 2023

Heddle Pulley

c. 1935

Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Baule-style carver

Wood and metal

Overall: 14 cm (5 1/2 in.)

Gift of Katherine C. White 1971.299

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

The man on this heddle pulley is depicted with a hairstyle that was fashionable at the time it was made.

Description

The heddle pulley, a working element of a narrow-band loom, bears a miniature sculpture. Heddle pulleys support and separate threads during weaving. Mounted above the weaver, the pulleys allow him to glance up at an object of inspiring beauty, rather than pure functionality.

Provenance
Katherine White Reswick
Citations
Fagg, William Buller. African Tribal Images: the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 87. no. 87
Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review 1972.” In Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60, no. 3 (March 1973): 106, no. 26. p. 106, no. 26
Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.299