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Portrait Mask (mblo)

early-mid 1900s
Wood and paint
Overall: 41.2 cm (16 1/4 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1974.203
Location: 108A Sub-Saharan
Public Domain
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Description

Male and female mblo masks, highly valued by the Baule people, are used in a variety of entertainment dances. Wearing elaborate coiffures and delicate facial scars, they are seen as portraits of known individuals. Their idealized rendering embodies core traits of Baule aesthetics, including lustrous skin, a high forehead, and downcast eyes, signs of good health, intelligence, and admiration, respectively.
Portrait Mask (mblo)

Portrait Mask (mblo)

early-mid 1900s

Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Baule-style carver

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