A wooden mask - Gelede - Yoruba - Benin (No reserve price)

Geléde Mask “Accident Scene” - Kifouli Dossou, Cotonou Region, Benin. This vibrant wooden sculpture combines a traditional geléde mask head with a dramatic depiction of modern everyday life. The yellow-painted face, with large eyes, red lips, and black cheek markings, supports an elaborately designed scene: A pink truck with a black cargo bed is surrounded by several human figures. Some appear to have fallen or are trapped beneath the vehicle, while others emerge from windows and from behind the cargo bed. Bold shades of yellow, blue, red, and black lend the scene an almost theatrical immediacy. The composition unites narrative detail with the monumental presence of the mask head. Kifouli Dossou (born 1978 in Cové, Benin) translates the Yoruba geléde carving tradition into a contemporary visual language. While the historical Gelédé mask plays honor the spiritual power of the "mothers" and convey social values, Dossou's works address current events and social conflicts. The depicted accident scene can be interpreted as a powerful commentary on the dangers of modern road traffic. Thus, the traditional mask becomes a narrative medium bridging cultural memory and the present. Literature (selection): Henry J. Drewal / Margaret Thompson Drewal: Geledé: Art and Female Power among the Yoruba. Bloomington 1983. Babatunde Lawal: The Gelédé Spectacle: Art, Gender, and Social Harmony in an African Culture. Seattle 1996. Fondation Zinsou: Les Masques Guélédé. Cotonou 2013. Some of the information and photos are generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history documents. All information and photos are protected by copyright. Inv. No. MAZ30222

Estimate:$336.13

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