Máscara guro - Guro - Costa de Marfil

This mask has a particular elegance, an outstanding plasticity with morbidly sweetly arched surfaces and fleeting lines, highlighted by a brilliant patina of use. It has almond-shaped, slanted, half-closed eyes on a subtle, elongated face; the delicately undulating profile line runs uninterrupted from the domed forehead to the tip of the nose, slightly raised upwards, above an open mouth, showing the teeth in a graceful, subtle smile, accentuated by the shape of the eyes. The mask has delicate scarifications on the forehead and earlobes and an elaborate vertical bun hairstyle called “kongolo,” worn in ancient times, slightly tilted back following the slight curve of the profile and tied at the top. This mask is the work of a sculptor of genius. It is made of very hard wood, with numerous signs of Baoulé influence, particularly the scarifications and slightly arched eyebrows. The treatment of the hairstyle also reveals the hand of a virtuoso.

Provenance: Berthe Hartert collection
Argiles collection, Barcelona