Antique Baoulé ceremony mask from the Ivory Coast

This is an impressive antique Baoulé ceremony mask from the Ivory Coast.

It would have been worn for the ceremonial “dance de la chasse “ , by the greatest hunters of the village.

The lower half represents the mouth of a crocodile and the head is crowned by a bird.

The face has all the classic Baoulé features, high eyebrow arches, a typical, small, straight nose, and evocative painted lowered eyes with black pupils. The hair is finely carved and the face decorated with tribal scarifications.

These stylistic attributes are actually a visual vocabulary that suggests what it means to be a good, honorable, respected, and beautiful person in Baule society. The half slit eyes and high forehead suggest modesty and wisdom respectively.

Beautiful intense pigments

This finely crafted piece is from the first half of the 20th century

67.5 cms long x 17 cms wide x 16 cms deep