Mask - Africa

Ivory Coast command staffs

This African art object, originating from a ..., is formed by a rectangular flat surface, extended by a carved staff in its upper part with parallel lines arranged in triangles, then by a female figure in high relief. The figure is endowed, bounded by a checkerboard headband, with a stepped braided hairstyle called the 'cascade', in the style of the atye women's headdresses at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, as evidenced by photographs taken at that time. Large hollowed eye sockets house stretched and closed eyelids, and a small mouth is drawn on a prognathic chin. The prominence of the abdomen is emphasized by the position of the digitated hands, the realistic depiction of the sexual organs further accentuating the reference to motherhood and fertility. The buttocks also show protrusions, echoing the shape of the breasts. The lower limbs, for their part, are bent and undersized, creating a sharp contrast.