Gouro Gu, Ivory Coast - Zaouli Dance Mask

Second half of the 20th century
Gouro Gu, Ivory Coast Zaouli Dance Mask
Accompanied by its certificate of authenticity
Weight: 0.930 Kg
Dimensions: 50 x 25 cm
Base not included (contact us)
Wood
Former Calbanen collection

Among the Southern Mande group in Central Ivory Coast, the Gouro have been using, since the 1950s, a family of African masks associated with the Zaouli dance. Like the Goli masks from Baoule, the set of Guro masks come in two zoomorphic masks followed by a third anthropomorphic mask, which is considered the wife of the Zamble mask, the Gu. The Gu, whose function is apotropaic, represents a young woman endowed with the Guro's own beauty standards, in particular facial scarifications and filed teeth. Singing in honor of the zamble the Gu moves graciously to the sound of the flute. The dancer is entirely covered with fabrics and vegetable fibers with bright colours in harmony with the polychromia of the mask, performing various acrobatic feats in front of a captive audience.