Large antelope mask of the mask ensemble "dye" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3043457

Description

wood, painted in black, colour accents in red and yellow, drilled holes (from metal tags), rep. in several places (horns, snout), missing part.
During the “dye” mask performances, animal masks first appear as a kind of vanguard, as emissaries of the “higher” anthropomorphic masks. In addition to the dog, hippopotamus, goat and buffalo the animal masks represent an astonishing variety of different types of antelopes, which can be distinguished according to the length and shape of their horns. “Dye” masks are used in legal cases and have a protective function, occur at funerals and are also used for entertainment purposes.

The object Large antelope mask of the mask ensemble “dye” with the object ID 3043457 was last part of the auction 88th Tribal Art Auction at March 10, 2018 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 211 achieved a sales price of EUR 800.

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

Fischer, Eberhard & Lorenz Homberger, Die Kunst der Guro, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1985, p. 108 ff.

Publications

AHDRC: 0150436