A Baule face mask, delicate features carved into this wooden hollow piece, soft cheeks with delicate lips, slim nose, eye half closed with two slits to see though, arched eyebrows, the mask is mounted by a bird pecking at the forehead, its feathered tail is colored in white pigment, nice indentations around the whole head with triangular shapes bring this mask into an aesthetic realm, it is punctuated around the ridge in its back inured to to attach it to a costume; the wood has been chipped at some places on the left eyelid, signs of use on the cheeks, fore head and on the bird.

"In Baule communities, mblo performances feature masked dancers who impersonate familiar subjects, ranging from animals to human caricatures. Mblo dances culminate in a performance that pays tribute to the community’s most admired member. The honored individual is referenced by a mask conceived as his or her artistic "double" or "namesake.
While such works may depict either men or women, they were often commissioned by a man to honor a female relative or created by a carver in homage to a particular woman's dance skills and beauty. Because of their importance, only the best dancers are eligible to wear portrait masks in performance. On such occasions it is required that the portrait's subject, or "double," be present to accompany it."

Source: The MET

sold

Height: 47 cm
Weight: 1,8 kg