Portrait Mask (mblo)

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.

Provenance

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Portrait Mask (mblo)

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early to mid-1900s

Accession Number

1974.203

Medium

Wood and paint

Dimensions

Overall: 41.2 cm (16 1/4 in.)

Classification

Mask

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Katherine C. White