Buffalo mask – Wood – Guro Zamble – Ivory Coast

Buffalo mask from the Guro tribe of Ivory Coast.
Buffalos, large game animals with massive bodies, were associated with power, and buffalo masks, worn on the top of the head, were an important part of every ritual dance sequence.
Powerful mask in good condition with a beautiful patina of age.

This zoomorphic mask is part of the ritual trilogy honored during the Goli masquerades of the Gouro people of west-central Côte d’Ivoire, during which it embodies the mythical male of their pantheon. He borrows his horns from the antelope and his gaping jaw from the leopard. The long nasal bridge, the forehead where the traditional spiky hair is drawn and the two horns are incised with geometric patterns coloured in ochre and white, and the eyelids forming a wide circle around the half-closed almond-shaped eyes are enhanced with the same pigments.

Provenance: Manfred Schäfer, former gallery owner from Ulm, Germany.