Mask "gu"

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Description

wood, encrusted reddish brown patina, black paint, white pigment, elongated narrow face, crowned by a tuft of hair tied together by a broad band to which rectangular amulet pouches are attached, raised scars on forehead and cheeks, narrow horizontal eye-slits, open mouth with the upper incisors filed to points, remains of an old collection label “Cote d’Ivoire” and collection number “221” backside, slightly dam. (nose), minor missing parts (teeth), paint rubbed off, fine crack;
According to Eberhard Fischer, probably to be attributed to the circle of the master of “Duonu”.
“Gu” is always carved according to the image of “a beautiful woman” - “uanya iri nya”. Although it is always danced by men. A conical basket, attached to the mask is put over the dancers back of the head, thus helping the dancer to fix the mask in front of the face. The dancer wears a net-like costume, abundant grass fibre bunches, a womans cloth mainly in blue and an antelope pelt.
Together with “zauli” - a grotesque animal mask with long horns - and “zamble” whose face should remind of a leopard or a crocodile - “gu” forms one mask family. “Gu” is always depicted 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”.

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Comparing literature

Fischer, Eberhard & Lorenz Homberger, Afrikanische Meister, Kunst der Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 2014, p. 57, fig. 58 Homberger, Lorenz, Fischer, Eberhard, Die Kunst der Guro, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1985, p. 159 ff.

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