A Yaure celebration mask collected in Zagota region, Ivory Coast, crowned with a circle of birds joining their beaks in th ecenter. Glossy patine, signs of ritual use and age. Incl stand. Yaure celebration masks originate from central Côte d’Ivoire, where the Yaure people occupy a cultural and linguistic position between the Baule to the east and the Guro to the west. Their masking traditions reflect this intermediary geography, combining formal refinement with ritual and social functions that articulate the relationships between the living, the dead, and the spiritual realm. Among the Yaure, masks are not merely aesthetic objects but dynamic participants in ceremonies that sustain moral order and community cohesion. The so-called “celebration masks” are especially associated with performances that mark the passage of life and the maintenance of harmony between humans and spirits. The Yaure conceive of the world as governed by invisible forces, including nature spirits (yu) and ancestral powers who influence fertility, health, and social balance. Masks appear within this cosmology as mediating instruments that allow communication with these forces. Celebration masks, often referred to collectively as lo masks, perform in funerary rituals known as lo zu and in other communal events that honor the deceased, celebrate abundance, or reaffirm collective identity. The masquerade constitutes a controlled encounter between human society and the dangerous energies of the bush, transforming spiritual power into social order through dance, music, and spectacle. Formally, Yaure masks are among the most elegant in West African art. They are typically carved from a single piece of wood, characterized by a refined balance between geometric precision and organic rhythm. The faces are oval and smooth, the features symmetrically arranged, and the expressions composed yet animated by subtle curvature around the mouth and eyes. Many masks include a crest or superstructure—often an animal figure such as a hornbill, antelope, or ram—whose symbolic associations reinforce themes of vitality, sacrifice, and regeneration. The surface is usually darkened with pigment or patina, lending the mask a sense of spiritual depth. The sculptural restraint of Yaure masks conceals a complex iconography: the idealized human visage evokes beauty and moral rectitude, while the animal motifs connect the mask to the untamed spiritual forces of the bush. In performance, celebration masks appear as part of an ensemble that includes drumming, song, and dance. The dancer, fully costumed in cloth and raffia, is transformed into a vessel for spiritual presence. Each mask type has its own choreography and rhythm, corresponding to its role in the ritual sequence. Some masks are considered dangerous and may not be seen by women or uninitiated men, while others perform publicly to honor the departed and to restore social equilibrium after death or misfortune. The harmony of form and movement reflects Yaure ideals of restraint, self-control, and aesthetic propriety, which are seen as necessary conditions for moral and communal well-being. Yaure masks entered Western collections in the early twentieth century, admired for their formal beauty and compositional harmony. Modernist artists and collectors, notably during the interwar period, celebrated their abstract clarity and serene expression, often detached from their ritual origins. Subsequent scholarship has sought to correct this decontextualization by situating Yaure masks within the lived context of Yaure ritual life. As celebration masks, they are not objects of static contemplation but agents of transformation—visual and performative means through which the community negotiates its relationship with death, fertility, and the continuity of moral order. References Bognolo, Daniela. Masques de la Côte d’Ivoire. Paris: Éditions du Musée Dapper, 1998. Falgayrettes-Leveau, Christiane. Art de Côte d’Ivoire: Traditions et modernités. Paris: Musée Dapper, 1993. Homberger, Lorenz. The Art of Côte d’Ivoire. Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 1990. Vogel, Susan Mullin. Baule: African Art, Western Eyes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. Fagg, William. African Sculpture. London: Studio Vista, 1964. Zahan, Dominique. The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979. Height: 41 cm without stand.