In Guro culture, distinctions are made between masquerades that are the focus of cults and those that are more secular in nature. A sequence of three sacred masks centers around Zamble, a mythical male being whose form fuses antelope and leopard features. He is in turn complemented by his beautiful wife, Gu, and his wild, grotesque brother, Zuali. Such representations are owned by certain families that use them as the loci of sacrificial offerings proposed by diviners to improve their well-being. In contrast, other Guro mask forms, which serve only as sources of entertainment, are designed by individual performers.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Face Mask (Gu)
Artist:Guro artist
Date:19th–mid-20th century
Geography:Côte d'Ivoire, central Côte d'Ivoire
Culture:Guro peoples
Medium:Wood, pigment
Dimensions:H. 12 1/4 x W. 5 3/8 x D. 4 3/8 in. (31.1 x 13.6 x 11.1cm)
Classification:Wood-Sculpture
Credit Line:The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
Object Number:1979.206.293
Paul Guillaume, Paris, before 1923 until (d.)1934; Juliette 'Dominica' Lacaze Guillaume, Paris, until 1965; (Hôtel Drouot Rive Gauche, Paris, November 9, 1965); Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1965, on loan to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1965–1978
Cleveland Museum of Art. "African Negro Art," –October 27, 1935.
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. "L'art negre," January 1, 1930–December 31, 1930.
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "African Negro Art," March 18, 1935–May 19, 1935.
Currier Museum of Art. "African Negro Art," June 10, 1935–July 8, 1935.
San Francisco Museum of Art. "African Negro Art," July 23, 1935–September 2, 1935.
Museum of Primitive Art. "Faces," February 14, 1973–September 9, 1973.
Clouzot, Henri, and André Level. Sculptures Africaines et Océaniennes, Colonies Francaises et Congo Belge. Paris: Librairie de France, 1925, pl. 35.
Maes, Joseph, and Henri Lavachery. L’Art Nègre à l’exposition du Palais des Beaux-Arts. Brussels: Librairie Nationale d'Art et d'Histoire, 1930, pl. 46.
Portier, Andre. Les Arts Sauvages: Afrique. Paris: Editions Albert Morancé, 1930, pl. XXXVI, fig. 60.
Sweeney, James Johnson, ed. African Negro Art. New York: Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1935, p. 36, no. 100 (not ill.).
Andre Portier and Francois Poncetton. Les Arts Sauvages Afrique. Paris: Editions Albert Morancé, ca. 1956, pl. XXXV, no. 60.
Museum of Primitive Art. Robert Goldwater: A Memorial Exhibition. New York: Museum of Primitive Art, ca.1973, p. 17, no. 11.
Fischer, Eberhard, and Lorenz Homberger. Die Kunst der Guro, Elfenbeinkuste. Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 1985.
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The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.
