A notable spear carved with a female figure holding a stool. This ceremonial spear, the emblem of authority of an Akye chief, is exceptional in more ways than one, and constitutes one of the finest and oldest examples now known. The themes that adorn this spear, undoubtedly from the 19th century, are recurrent in the arts of the so-called lagoon cultures, and remained popular well into the 20th century in the arts of this region. This is a young girl, richly scarified at the temples, around the neck and the rest of the body, and superbly coiffed with braids and asymmetrical side buns. She is an elder's assistant, wearing her stool on her head, another badge of authority, and bringing beauty to the assemblies. She symbolizes a prepubescent girl who is not yet regulated, and protects her owner, who holds his spear in front of him, from witchcraft by the "mystical force of her purity". Further down, in high relief, is carved what is certainly a powder keg, symbolizing wealth and power. The archaism and artistic qualities of this work of the finest style must be emphasized, with its closed-lidded eyes imbued with a profound serenity, highlighted by superb, large superciliary arches joining its coffee-bean-shaped temporal scarification and underlined by finely sculpted, protruding cheekbones, as well as the finesse of the treatment of its tapering arms, like that of the chasing of the engravings adorning the braids or those of the openwork sculpted stool. We can also be delighted, for once, that this spear has not been truncated, preserved by its two successive owners who passed it on to us, it comes to us complete, with its two irons. Its archaic style and sublime patina accompany its prestigious and rare provenance, that of Dr. Stéphen Chauvet, almost as a logical consequence. Attié (Akyé), Ivory Coast Wood, iron, old cracks, small visible accidents and minor wear, superb old patina. H. 146 cm See : Arts de la Côte d'Ivoire Tome 1 et 2, Ed. Musée Barbier-Mueller, Geneva 1993. Provenance : - Collection of Dr. Stéphen Chauvet - Jean Roudillon Collection