Face mask of the "mblo"group · Côte d'Ivoire, Baule · ID: 3033281
Harald & Ursula Suhr, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada / Germany (1983)
Description
wood, blackish brown patina, flat face with a multi-lobed coiffure with fine grooves and rich skin scarification marks, the virtual facial features concentrated on a rather small area, slightly dam., minor missing parts, cracks;
masks of the “mblo” group do not have any ritual meaning, they exclusively appear for entertainment. They represent beautiful women or girls from the village and have definitely portrayal character. They may as well represent men who became known for bravery or outstanding social behaviour.
The object Face mask of the “mblo"group with the object ID 3033281 was last part of the auction 70th tribal art auction at September 8, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 108 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,500.
You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Comparing literature
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, ill. 124