Kulango Figurines introduces the extraordinarily varied miniatures created by the Kulango people in northeastern Ivory Coast. These metal sculptures, both intriguing and disconcerting, display a strikingly free expressiveness. Bodies seem to reinvent movement, sometimes adopting almost choreographic gestures, an airy grace, or sinuous lines. Some display unexpected twists and provocative curves, and others are even stranger, like conjoined twins, inseparable triplets, even headless figures or figures with one head on two torsos. Beyond sculpture, the book includes pendants, amulets, fortune tellers' statuettes, and weights for weighing gold. Stunning and surprising, these works will intrigue scholars and collectors.


Alain-Michel Boyer has taught at several universities in the US. A former member of the Conseil National des Universités in Paris, he is now professor emeritus of African art.