wood, matt brown patina, black paint, remains of pigment, cotton thread, metal tags, massive bowl-shaped base, the superimposed mask face marked by small eyes that are arranged close to each other, an elongated delicate nose bridge and a pierced mouth with tiny teeth, the elaborate coiffure arranged in five lobes, the face richly adorned with scarification marks, collection number backside: "42.4.24 CI", bite stick at the back (for fixing the mask with the mouth), drilled holes around rim, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks (mouth, above all backside), metal base;
a stylistically with the present mask comparable work was designated by Sotheby's London (Lot 67) in 1986 as being from the Baule. In 2002 at Sotheby's New York, a similar mask (Lot 68) was designated as being from the Guro, whereby the mask on offer is more likely to be from the Baule culture and is an embodiment of the "kpan" mask type.
These appear during the "goli" masks festival, which lasts for a whole day and in which the whole village takes part. Four mask pairs appear two by two in a fixed order: first a pair of disc-faced masks "kple kple", next a pair of animal helmet masks "goli glen", third a pair of horned face masks "kpan pre", and finally two human-faced masks "kpan" (= senior female mask). Only a few, important "goli" dances include the final pair, "kpan", which appears holding fly whisks as symbols of elderhood. Their performance is theatrically managed for greatest effect. When they arrive, it is nearly dusk, and women have been dancing and singing through the streets in anticipation, begging "kpan" to come. The women receive the masks as beloved personages, fanning them with scarves and dancing joyously beside them.
H: 43 cm, H: 16,9 inch
Provenance:
Emil Storrer, Zurich, Switzerland
Edith Hafter, Solothurn, Switzerland
Lit.: Vogel, Susan Mullin, Baule, African Art - Western Eyes, New York 1997, p. 169 ff.
Sotheby's, London, 24 March 1986, lot 67
Sotheby's New York, 15 November 2002, lot 68
Continent: Africa

See description