Anthropomorphic face mask "gu" · Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3032633
sold
EUR 3,000
Provenance
Rebecca Harkness, New York, USASotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 9 th November 1979, lot 26
Richard Rüegg, Zurich, Switzerland
Size
H: 33 cm
H: 13.0 inch
Description
heavy wood, dark brown patina, whitened teeth, small remains of red paint on the lips, typical narrow face with protruding mouth part and delicate nose bridge, raised scarification marks, filed incisors, fine grooved coiffure with long lobes at the temples, slightly dam., crack;
“gu” is always presented as a young woman, who is considered to be zambles wife. During the masquerade she appears after the two zoomorphic masks “zaule” and “zamble”, accompanied by flutes, moving slowly and charming, singing in honour of “zamble”. The mask ensemble appears at funeral ceremonies and on various festivities, they are assigned to resolve disputes and to search for witches.
Comparing literature
Fischer, Eberhard, Guro, Masks, München, Berlin, London, New York 2008, p. 368