Zoomorphic mask "bolu" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Guro · ID: 3034778

Description

light brown wood, painted in black and white, snout with short trunks, rhomb emblem, adorned with jags and notches, min. dam., small missing parts (tip of the right tusk), slight traces of abrasion, metal socle;
belonging to the “dye” mask ensemble, whose meaning is not entirely settled until today. The animal masks “bohi” the goat, “glo”, “zuin” and “kla” three different types of antelopes, “bolu” the hippo, “bi” the elephant, “blin” the dog and “du” the buffalo appear at the beginning of the masquerade forming a kind of advance guard. They are said to prepare the place for dancing.

Comparing literature

Fischer, Eberhard, Guro, Masks, München, Berlin, London, New York 2008, p. 124, ill. 101