Maschera (5419)

Portrait mask from the Baulè people of Côte d'Ivoire. The “features of the small, oval, and strongly rounded face are rendered with restraint yet with precision and sculptural sensitivity, as is the lively and orderly coiffure. The vivid red of an initial layer of pigment shows through the remains of a second black patina, now partly lost” (quoted from E. Bassani [ed.], Arte dell'Africa Nera, Florence–Milan, Skira, 2000). The work is part of the Bassani Collection (inv. AFR 00040 2513A).

Photo: Paolo Vandrasch, Milano; Giuliano Spagnul, Milano; Vivi Papi, Varese.

Courtesy MUDEC.