A nearly life size wooden statue of a european soldier was carved for an unknown purpose in about 1900 by a living in the baule group of people living in the french ivory coast colony (18.35).his heart shaped face resembles those on masks carved in the same region. But the sculptor took pains to record details of costume tropical helmet tight fitting uniform mcdal and boots.his proportions and stiff military pose ,standing to attention are quite unlike those of the baule or any other african images that were so avidly collected in early twentieth-century europe .whether commissioned by a european or an african this work reveals the sculptor's flexibility and his ability to adapt his style for noval task.the same may be said of figures of europeans carved for export on ivory tusks from the mid nineteenth century in the region of the zaire estuary (now the democratic republic of congo ). On one ,several europeans,including two men in conversation -probably a merchant and a store-keeper holding a huge key