Yaure - Côte d'Ivoire

The Yahuré belong to the Mande group, which includes the Mandingo and most of the peoples west of the Baulé. Therefore, the Yahuré have adopted the Baulé style for making their masks. Like the Baulé, they live in the Buaflé region along the Bandama River. Their masks generally feature a serrated edge that is mistakenly thought to be a beard (female figures have the same decoration). The masks of the Yahuré, called Do or Lo and Dyé or Jé, are mostly anthropomorphic and anthropo-zoomorphic face masks. The Dyé and Do masks have sacred functions comparable to those of their neighbors’ masks (Guro, Baulé). The facial features of the Yahuré are very similar in form to the facial masks used in their environment by the Baulé, from which they draw inspiration.

Provenance: Berthe Hartert collection
Argiles collection, Barcelona