A Baule/ Yaure mask from Ivory Coast with face serene and distinctly carved with small pouted mouth bearing teeth, thin long nose connects to the eyebrows with scarification in the center, and squinted eyes, small ears and scarifications around the temples, mouth, cheeks and forehead; surrounding the face is serrated carvings that end in a cylindrical goateewith a rope tied to it; the coiffure three parted high bun with serrated carvings on both sides and small down turned horns. Dark patina; signs of ritual use. Certificate of origin and provenance of Amadou Bouaflé, Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

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

Height: 40 cm
Weight: 2,1 kg (Incl. stand)