Baule Goli Kplekple Mask Côte d'Ivoire Sidley Collection
Width: 25.5
Depth: 3
Description
A grand Baule Goli mask measuring 40 inches in height with a beautiful blue pigmentation. A striking addition to any art collection.
The Baule have several different masks ranging from refined portrait masks to large headpieces representing wild buffalo or antelope. These masks are exuberantly carved and painted. The Kplekple mask was one of a set of masks that appeared during a ceremony and is identified with the spirit of the young men who dance the mask. As one of the first masks to appear during a dance ceremony, Goli Kplekple sets the stage, engages the audience, and prepares the way for the more important masks that will dance later.
Baule masks are most often symbolically representative of animals in the Baule pantheon of mythical animals and beings. This kplekple shows an abstracted buffalo head in a flat format with slightly protruding eyes and mouth, with the horns projecting upwards. It could well be an anthropomorphizing bush cow with human facial features. It would be worn with a raffia (grass) costume attached to the lower section of the mask reaching to below the waist, and a grass skirt covering the body and legs. It is a visually dramatic example of the continuity of a long-standing Baule tradition of visual and symbolic statements.
Dimensions: 40 x 25.5 x 3 inches
Provenance: Niña Sidley Collection
After a long career in publishing, Niña Sidley returned to her first love: collecting the art, artifacts, and textiles of the world’s indigenous peoples. Part of her mission has been to educate others and to honor the extraordinary creativity, ingenuity, and heartfelt messages these handmade works send from their makers. Niña believes this deep respect for tradition and beauty inspires and ties all of us together as one world.
149300
Approximate Age: 20th Century
People: ["Baule"]
Country of Origin: Côte d'Ivoire
Material
Condition
Overall Condition: Good. Most of our pieces have spent decades on at least two continents, and have been treasured by several owners.