Small face mask "kpélié" with kapok fruit, around 1940 ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo, Songuifolo Silué (ca.1914-1986) · ID: 3045750

Description

wood, base

A very similar mask of the artist shown at Krieg & Lohse (1981), p. 49.

Songuifolo Silué travelled as a boy to Ouézomon, where he saw Sabariko Koné at work, who at the time was considered as the best carver.

In the thirties, Songuifolo developed his own distinctive style with reduced forms, clean lines and smooth surfaces (“economy style”). In addition, he continued to work in the so-called “Ouézomon” style, characterized by round shapes and minute detail, characterized by Sabariko Koné.

Karl-Heinz Krieg, who got to know Songuifolo in person, followed his work for decades. The carver, who worked in two styles at the same time, fascinated him.

Songuifolo worked for almost 60 years as a carver until he went blind in the early 1980s and died in 1986.

The object Small face mask “kpélié” with kapok fruit, around 1940 with the object ID 3045750 was last part of the auction 92nd Tribal Art Auction at June 29, 2019 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 145 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,800.

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

Krieg, Karl-Heinz & Wulf Lohse, Kunst und Religion bei den Gbato-Senufo, Elfenbeinküste, Hamburg 1981, p. 48 f. https://www.senufo-art.com/archive-of-senufo-sculpturers/songuifolo-silu%C3%A9-fono-from-sirasso-1914-1986/?fbclid=IwAR0ktyZUOTI_e0HfefA7pSnAEfZr3MLJKPdrB_2dgID3K6TsvSbIMfjAfwQ