Heddle Pulley (probably Noo mask)

c. 1935

Heddle Pulley (probably Noo mask), c. 1935. Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Senufo-style carver. Wood; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Butkin Foundation 1970.354 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. Using a carefully carved—rather than plain—heddle pulley was a way for a weaver to show how he appreciated aesthetic beauty.