Mblo Portrait Mask

Baule

1 of 2

Object Label

At a wide range of Baule festivals and celebrations, masks are danced and performed to entertain. This mask's delicate, symmetrical features, ornate hairstyle, and smooth surface all create an image of calm and grace. The mask is meant to exemplify an ideal of personal beauty and composure.

Caption

Baule. Mblo Portrait Mask, late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, oils, pigment, 10 1/2 x 5 3/8 x 3 in.(26.7 x 13.7 x 7.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, The Adolph and Esther D. Gottlieb Collection, 1989.51.25. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Arts of Africa

Culture

Baule

Title

Mblo Portrait Mask

Date

late 19th or early 20th century

Geography

Possible place made: Lacs, N’zi Comoe, Côte d'Ivoire, Possible place made: Valle du Bandama Region, Côte d'Ivoire

Medium

Wood, oils, pigment

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

10 1/2 x 5 3/8 x 3 in.(26.7 x 13.7 x 7.6 cm)

Credit Line

The Adolph and Esther D. Gottlieb Collection

Accession Number

1989.51.25

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