Mask "gu" with animal horns · Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3051556
American Private Collection (coll. ca. 1960-1990)
Family-owned since then
Collected by an American diplomat and ambassador in the 1960-1990s, when he provided charitable medical aid throughout the African continent.
Description
wood, pigment, collection no. “48277”, base
“Gu” is considered a female being. She is the wife of the mask-being “zamble” (and his brother"zauli"), and as such she must always follow her husband, i. e. appear after him in a masquerade.
Despite her human like face, the “gu” mask being is considered a creature of the forest. It is quite possible that the addition of horns to the beautiful female face was intended to emphasize the non-village, forest-bound, and therefore “sacred” aspect of “gu”.
The object Mask “gu” with animal horns with the object ID 3051556 was last part of the auction Auction 103 at November 16, 2024 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 170 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,200.
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.