Helmet mask "bo nun amuin"
Côte d'Ivoire, Bouakè, Baule
sold
EUR 1,000
Provenance
presumably Paolo Morigi, Magliaso-Lugano, SwitzerlandWalter Stanley Schwab, Murten, Switzerland (“WS 233”) (1978)
Size
H: 45 cm
H: 17.7 inch
Description
wood, colour pigments, insect caused damage backside, rep.
This mask type is called “bo nun amuin” (“gods in (or of) the bush”), or “amuin yasua” (“men’s gods”) and is considered the most sacred mask of the Baule.
Women are forbidden to look at the mask (even during performances). Those that do look risk illness, misfortune or even death.
Expertise
Paolo Morigi, 23 June 1978, Magliaso-LuganoComparing literature
Vogel, Susan Mullin, Baule, African Art - Western Eyes, New York 1997, p. 210Publications
AHDRC: 0170832