Mask: Gu

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Mask: Gu

Artist Guro Peoples (African)

Place of OriginCôte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Date1900-1925

Dimensions12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm)

Mediumcarved wood with pigment

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1970.16

Not on View

Label TextAn evocation of feminine beauty, Gu belongs to a grouping of ancient masks called yu. Yu are owned collectively by families of the Guro people who dance them for special events or to mourn a deceased member of the community. Gu (brave female) dances with her husband Zamble, the ideal male, and his wild brother Zauli. Together they act out—and sometimes mock—gender roles. Gu’s curving antelope horns emphasize her gracefulness, while her elegant, symmetrical features convey otherworldly beauty, enhanced by the delicate patterns of scars below each eye. Traces of red and white pigment attest the mask was originally brightly painted.Published References

"African Art," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 16, no.2, 1973, p. 34, repr. fig. 6.

Roberts, Mary Nooter, Facing Africa: The African Art Collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 1998, pp.30-31, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2005, p. 48, repr. (col.).

Reich, Paula, Toledo Museum of Art: Map and Guide, London, Scala, 2009, p. 48, repr. (col.).

Comparative ReferencesSee also Wingert, Paul S. The Wurtzburger Collection of African Sculpture, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1954, p. 19, 20, no. 20, ill. 20.

cf. Wardwell, Allen, Primitive Art in the Collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1965.

cf. Christensen, Erwin O., Primitive Art, New York, 1955, p. 39, fig. 16.

cf. Fagg, William, African Tribal Images, The Katherine White Reswick Collection, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 74.

cf. Elisofon, Eliot and William Fagg, The Sculpture of Africa, New York, 1958, p. 92, no. 113.

cf. Robbins, Warren M., African Art in American Collections, New York, Frederick Praeger, 1966, p. 86, no. 78.

cf. Wassing, Rene, African Art, Its Background and Traditions, New ryork, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1968, p. 132.