Gouro mask, Ivory Coast - Lot 151

Lot n° 151
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Estimation :
800 - 1200 EUR
Result without fees
Result : 2 800EUR
Gouro mask, Ivory Coast - Lot 151
Gouro mask, Ivory Coast Mid-twentieth century Painted wood H. 106.2 cm - L. 36.5 cm An impressive zewe mask from the Dyé company, with a perfectly balanced composition, rendered by a skilful interplay of colors and lines that inexorably brings us closer to the works of Mondrian. Expressing the duality between the human and animal worlds, the face features harmonious anthropozoomorphic features, magnified by a glossy black patina. Beneath the domed forehead, the rounded curve of the eyebrows, meeting to form the straight nose, welcomes half-moon-shaped eyes with heavy lids. Prolonging the lower part of the face, the elongated, half-open snout could link this mask both to the north of Gouro country, where it is nicknamed the "fire-eater", and to the south of the territory, where it appears as the spokesman for the Dyé. The zoomorphic nature of the effigy is expressed in all its monumentality by the four-branched superstructure surmounting the head, featuring stylized horns. The rigorous verticality of the composition is balanced by the arrangement of sections in pure, bold colors, reminiscent of Mondrian's geometric compositions in primary colors. Here, sculptural rhythm is provided by the regular alternation of fundamental, achromatic colors - red, blue, yellow and white - whose impact is reinforced by the openwork spaces. Moving away from the figurative representation of the face, the cubist treatment of the crest gives the object a spiritual dimension based on lines and colors. Mondrian's words lend themselves perfectly to this work: "I construct lines and color combinations [...] in order to express, with the greatest consciousness, general beauty." In short, this reflection is not so far removed from the language of beauty in sub-Saharan African art.
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