Baule
Côte d'Ivoire
Coastal West Africa
Female Face Mask (Ndoma)
INV-9024
Baule
Côte d'Ivoire
Coastal West AfricaLate 19th or mid–20th century
Female Face Mask (Ndoma)
Baule Côte d'Ivoire Coastal West Africa →bauleArts of Africaafrican ArtCoastal West Africamaskswood
Date
Late 19th or mid–20th century
Medium
Wood, copper alloy, and pigment
Dimensions
28.6 × 18.1 × 12.7 cm (11 1/4 × 7 1/8 × 5 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
The Art Institute of Chicago, Ada Turnbull Hertle Endowment
Until Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war (2002–2007), Baule village life was regularly punctuated by entertainment masquerades. Such spectacles included masks that were idealized portraits honoring living members of the community. They were attached to a cloth costume and worn by a man—including the female mask displayed here—while the person portrayed typically danced beside him. In addition to individualized traits in its hairstyle and scarifications, this mask’s high forehead symbolizes intelligence and its downcast eyes suggest an introspective disposition.
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