Antelope mask ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3034331

Description

wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, crowned by a long pair of horns, bar for fixing the mask with the mouth, pierced around the rim, min. dam., small missing parts, slight traces of abrasion;
belonging to the dye-mask ensemble, whose meaning is not entirely settled until today. The animal masks (“bohi” the goat, “glo”, “zuin” and “kla” three different types of antelopes, “bolu” the hippo, “bi” the elephant, “blin” the dog and “du” the buffalo) appear at the beginning of the masquerade forming a kind of advance guard. They are said to prepare the place for dancing.

Comparing literature

Homberger, Lorenz, Fischer, Eberhard, Die Kunst der Guro, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1985, p. 117