A Baule mask, with delicate aesthetics and harmonious features evoke feelings of tranquility and balance, thus contributing to its overall value, the mask is decorated with a stylised hair-do, the small pointed mouth at the end of the jaw, small nose, closed eyes, bulbous forehead, reflect the Baule aesthetic's emphasis on intellect and reverence. Its nuanced individuality, highly refined details, powerful presence, is especially appealing for its unusual depth that affords strong three-quarter views, white patina around the eyes. Certificate of origin and provenance.

“To articulate historians, the most consistent features of Baule art is a kind of peaceful containment. Faces tend to have downcast eyes and figures most often hold their ams against the body. […] Among their abundant art forms, the Baule people continue to place the greatest value on masks and figure sculptures, which remain the only sculptural art still widely used in Baule villages. While there is a difference between the Baule view of their objects and that of Western connoisseurs, there are points of agreement. Aesthetic appreciation is one: Baule artist, and individual owners of objects, certainly sometimes enjoy the beauty of these objects and the skill it took coproduce them. […]

Ornaments above the face are chosen for their beauty and have no iconographic significance” p.141.

Lit: Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. Susan M.Vogel 1997.

"Portrait masks embody the core Baule sculptural style that is echoed in figural sculpture and decorative arts. They also have provided Baule sculptors with their prime opportunity for artistic invention, and the corpus demonstrates enormous formal diversity. This diversity is often apparent in imaginative decorative passages extending above the face […] Such masks appeared as the final sequence of an operatic public entertainment known as Mblo. Mblo performances consist of a succession of dances that escalate in complexity and importance, culminating ultimately in tributes to the community's most distinguished member. Individuals honored in this way are depicted by a mask that is conceived of as their artistic double or namesake."

Lit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum Bulletin: Recent Acquisitions, 2004-2005 (Fall 2005), p. 47.

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Height: 31 cm
Weight: 360 g