African Arts Gallery

African tribal art and Baoulé decorative art.
According to Baoulé mythology, a royal ancestor had to sacrifice his son to cross a river. This event is at the origin of the name of the Baoulé, Bauli, "the son is dead". Baoulé African art artists have produced very elegant and diverse works, including many masks. In the case of a totem animal, it is logically forbidden to consume it under penalty of serious consequences. These masks are honored in ways that generate blessings, and are the property of the family. There are also so-called “entertainment” masks which are danced during specific festivities. The twisted sculpted horns evoke aggression and destructive power. A sacrificial victim for offerings and a metaphor for pugnacity, the ram mask intervenes during ceremonies linked to the male initiation society of Poro. Very dense wood, matte patina, abrasions and small accidents, old restoration (internal).