The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 14, 2026

A dark brown wood sculpture depicts a head with slit eyes and a mouth that juts out in a wide rectangle. A twisted fiber cord loops through a metal ring at the crown. Below the neck, the flat body is decorated with incised concentric arches and triangles. At the bottom, a U-shaped frame holds a light brown wooden spool on a thin metal axle, its ends bent and extending from each side.

Heddle Pulley (Bo Nun Amuin mask)

1900s

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

Wood, metal, and plant fiber
Overall: 14.6 cm (5 3/4 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1971.300
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This heddle pulley depicts a fearsome Bo Nun Amuin mask that recalls nature spirits.

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. This pulley depicts a face mask, a secular usage of a typically sacred mask type.
  • 1971
    Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1971-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Fagg, William Buller. African Tribal Images:the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 88. no. 88
    Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review 1972.” In Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60, no. 3 (March 1973): 106, no. 27. p. 106, no. 27
  • Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Heddle Pulley (Bo Nun Amuin mask)|url=false|author=|year=1900s|access-date=14 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.300