Mask - Baule - Côte d'Ivoire (No reserve price)

In the category of Baoulé African masks associated with natural phenomena such as sunset, the rainbow and the moon, this mask, here in color, still appears during celebrations linked to the Gbagba dance. Its wearer is supposed to “warm up” the stage before the appearance of more important masks. Equipped with a jagged decorative frieze, it offers several faces with tightly interwoven features. Bright polychromy, smooth patina. The African art of the Baoulé, a group of the Akan based in the southeast of Ivory Coast, comprises a wide range of masks renowned for the sophistication of their decoration. On the one hand, these African masks transpose the main features of the face of a very beautiful young girl or a remarkable man, “portrait masks,” which were exhibited during particularly theatrical events where women played a major role; on the other hand, there are conjuration and initiation masks, appearing during ceremonies that were forbidden to them. Sacred masks, they could put their lives in danger, or at most their fertility.

Estimate:$6.7

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