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Baule Guro mask
€430.00
€215.00
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Female anthropomorphic mask attributable to the Guro of Côte d’Ivoire, distinguished by its highly polished black face, narrow eyes, red-highlighted mouth and especially its imposing architectural coiffure composed of broad incised sections.
Among the Guro, idealized female masks are notably associated with Gu, a female spirit embodying beauty, refinement and social prestige. Gu forms part of a mask complex that also includes Zamble and Zauli. In some communities, such masks belonged to particular lineages and could receive ritual offerings prescribed by diviners. They appeared during important ceremonies, including funerary rites, conflict resolution and performances intended to promote communal well-being.
Elaborate coiffures are particularly significant in representations of Gu, whose appearance evokes the beauty and status of high-ranking Guro women.
On this example, the extensive rear structure and upper crest give the mask an unusually architectural silhouette. The holes visible around the rear edges probably served for the attachment of additional costume or fibre elements.
Because Guro, Baule and Yaure sculptural traditions share many formal characteristics, attribution of individual masks may sometimes remain uncertain. Here, however, the narrow polished face and especially the elaborate coiffure favour a Guro attribution, possibly more cautiously described as originating from the Guro-Baule cultural area.
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Female anthropomorphic mask attributable to the Guro of Côte d’Ivoire, distinguished by its highly polished black face, narrow eyes, red-highlighted mouth and especially its imposing architectural coiffure composed of broad incised sections.
Among the Guro, idealized female masks are notably associated with Gu, a female spirit embodying beauty, refinement and social prestige. Gu forms part of a mask complex that also includes Zamble and Zauli. In some communities, such masks belonged to particular lineages and could receive ritual offerings prescribed by diviners. They appeared during important ceremonies, including funerary rites, conflict resolution and performances intended to promote communal well-being.
Elaborate coiffures are particularly significant in representations of Gu, whose appearance evokes the beauty and status of high-ranking Guro women.
On this example, the extensive rear structure and upper crest give the mask an unusually architectural silhouette. The holes visible around the rear edges probably served for the attachment of additional costume or fibre elements.
Because Guro, Baule and Yaure sculptural traditions share many formal characteristics, attribution of individual masks may sometimes remain uncertain. Here, however, the narrow polished face and especially the elaborate coiffure favour a Guro attribution, possibly more cautiously described as originating from the Guro-Baule cultural area.
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