Baule woman holding gilded wood fly whisks of dignitary N'Goran Koffi, Kouassiblekro, Ivory Coast

"During the colonial period the French sought to consolidate their authority over the peoples of the south-eastern region by creating district and cantonal chiefs. Though untraditional, these offices have survived, and their occupants have increasingly sought to gain status by adopting Akan-style regalia (as have the few traditional paramount chiefs in the region). Baule fly-whisks are carved in a light wood covered in a thin sheet of hammered gold. According to Baule goldsmiths, the technique of gold-leafing was introduced from the Akan region of Ghana." [Timothy F. Garrard, 1989: Gold of Africa, Prestel]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for National Geographic and traveled to Africa from January 19, 1972 to mid April 1972.