Horn mask of the "dye" mask ensemble ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3052136

Description

wood, color pigments, handwritten collection no. “447”, rest., base

“Dye” is a mask ensemble consisting of a large array of animal and human masks. The dancers wear lavish grass fibre costumes, which create an impressive image with their sweeping movements. First of all animal masks appear, acting as a kind of vanguard for the anthropomorphic masks - they are said to “prepare the dance floor” (cf. Fischer, E., 2008, p. 91).

This mask could represent “boli”, the goat, “guä”, the dwarf antelope, or “bui”, the duiker antelope. They have relatively short horns and white spots on their foreheads and snouts.

Comparing literature

Fischer, Eberhard, Guro, Masks, Performances and Master Carvers in Ivory Coast Munich, Berlin, London, New York 2008, p. 122, ill. 95