Null Bonu Amwin" zoomorphic helmet mask, BAOULE, Ivory Coast. Wood, pigments. He…

Description

Bonu Amwin" zoomorphic helmet mask, BAOULE, Ivory Coast. Wood, pigments. Height; 65 cm. Restoration.

231

Bonu Amwin" zoomorphic helmet mask, BAOULE, Ivory Coast. Wood, pigments. Height; 65 cm. Restoration.

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Estim. 4 000 - 6 000 EUR

Fan, Baulé, Ivory Coast Wood, skin, leather, hair, metal Height 37 cm Provenance: Maine Durieu, Paris Maine Durieu, Paris Richard Vinatier Collection, Avignon (inv. no. 347) As part of the insignia of power worn by high dignitaries, carved fans such as this extremely rare model are akin to chasses-mouches. Among this limited corpus, let's mention the highly graphic fan in the Marc and Denise Ginzberg collection, or the plant-fiber model collected by Frans Olbrechts and now kept at the Africa Museum in Tervuren. The fanning part takes the form of a disc, the surface of which is covered with black animal skin, extended by a diamond-shaped handle, carved at the end with a Janus head evoking the Baule iconography associated with Bonu Amwin conjuration masks. These sacred masks, reserved for men, evoke the power of the amwin, supernatural divinities whose role is to protect men against evil forces, in return for services and homage rendered during masked ritual ceremonies. Bonu amwin masks are nocturnal masks, generally hybrid and zoomorphic. Their function is apotropaic, religious and judicious. There's every reason to believe that these sculptures represent the masks of the male society to which the fan's owner belonged. The miniature masks, arranged vertically on the handle, are carved on the model of the large masks: half-closed eyes, a rounded forehead, a half-open mouth with cut sides, the skull surmounted, in the case of one of the masks, by two bulbous buns, and in the case of the second, by two curved buffalo horns. The Janiform character of the figure suggests great divine power, giving this object a sacred protective power. The patina of the handle is remarkably beautiful, dark with ochre nuances and kaolin highlights, marks of wear on the surface, underlining the repeated use and age of this object. This fan, beyond its unique aesthetics, bears witness to the importance among the Baule, of the continual interconnection between the terrestrial and spiritual worlds. The collective power of the great ceremonial masks was manifested in small personal objects carved in the effigy of these protective images, through which the initiates hoped to win the favor of the amwin.

Estim. 1 500 - 1 800 EUR

BAOULE MASK Ivory Coast Wood H: 40cm

Estim. 500 - 600 EUR

BAOULE MASK Ivory Coast Wood H: 38 cm

Estim. 500 - 600 EUR

BAOULE MASK Ivory Coast Wood H: 42 cm

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