A Guro mask, Oumé region, Ivory Coast. Incl. stand. This magnificent carved wooden Gye (or Zamble) mask from the Guro culture. This sacred ritual mask harmoniously combines idealized human features with animal attributes—in this case, antelope horns—to embody a powerful and protective spirit of the bush. The mask is topped by two very long horns that rise upward before curving elegantly toward each other. They form an almost closed arch shaped like a lyre or a semicircle. The horns have a dark, smooth patina, but their pointed tips are tinted with a light pigment (white/cream), creating a strong visual contrast. The mask’s face is particularly elongated, narrow, and slender, taking on a very fluid and hydrodynamic oval shape characteristic of the Guro aesthetic canon. The forehead is high, smooth, and domed. The eyes are depicted as long, almond-shaped slits, finely incised and outlined by well-defined eyelids. They converge toward a long, straight, and extremely pinched nose. The mouth, projecting forward, forms an open horizontal oval. The inside of the lip is painted white and reveals small, pointed teeth carved in a zigzag pattern, evoking an animalistic feature or ritual dentition. The entire outline of the jaw and chin is highlighted by a fine serrated or notched border (a series of small triangles in relief). It is accented with white pigments, symbolizing a stylized beard or the mask’s boundary. On the light-colored wooden side edge, a series of small, aligned circular holes can be seen, which were used to attach the raffia-fiber costume worn by the dancer during ceremonies. The object displays a remarkable patina of wear—very dark and glossy (almost black or dark mahogany)—across the entire front surface, evidence of repeated rubbing and anointing. The incisions for the eyes, mouth, and collar retain residues of white kaolin that illuminate the mask’s expression. "Among the Gouro masks, Zamble, a composite animal figure, and Gù, a fine-featured woman's face, are known to art lovers around the world. Today their profane avatars, Flali and Zaouli, are at the heart of masquerades that are much enjoyed by audiences. But this appreciation concerns only the 'pretty' aspects, that is to say the civilized and orderly side of an ensemble that also has a reverse side: the disease masks, sprung from disorder, avatars of the more powerful Zàùlì, described as the wild brother or husband of Zamble in the genealogical idiom employed by the Gouro when referring to the masks." Claudie Haxaire, "The Power of Ambiguity: The Nature and Efficacy of the Zamble Masks Revealed by 'Disease Masks' Among the Gouro People (Côte d'Ivoire),", Africa journal. Literature (Selection) Fischer, Eberhard: Guro Masks and Sculptures. Munich, 1980. Vogel, Susan Mullin (ed.): Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven, 1997. Eberhard Fischer / Hans Himmelheber: The Art of the Ivory Coast. Zurich 1984. Susan Vogel: Africa: The Art of a Continent. Munich/New York 1995. Herbert M. Cole: Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa. Washington 1989. Christopher D. Roy: Traditional Art of Africa. Upper Saddle River 1999. Jacques Kerchache among others: L’Art Africain. Paris 1988. Anita J. Glaze: Art and Death in a Senufo Village. Bloomington 1981. Some of the information is generated by artificial intelligence and is based on published sources from the fields of ethnography, archaeology, and art history. Informant: Bakari M*A*Z*1*5*2*3*0*3* The seller guarantees and can prove that the object was obtained legally. The seller was informed by Catawiki that they had to provide the documentation required by the laws and regulations in their country of residence. The seller guarantees and is entitled to sell/export this object. The seller will provide all provenance information known about the object to the buyer. The seller ensures that any necessary permits are/will be arranged. The seller will inform the buyer immediately about any delays in obtaining such permits.