Outlet Mask Gouro Ivory Coast, African art, Ref:1502

Mask Gouro ref: 1502 Ivory Coast weight: 400gr. Size: 37cm XX century

This mask has been on display at the African art exhibition Step by step in Amsterdan.

Ancestor worship and the importance of nature spirits. And like your beliefs in these non-human powers,

Of all the cultures around the world, one of the most enigmatic and interesting is African.

And within this culture, it is impossible not to think of the iconic African masks, which are present in war, religion and others.

If there is something we can rescue from African art, it is their masks.

Africa is a complex continent. Usually, in the West we have the belief that it is a single country, without major complexity, attractiveness or surprise.

However, once the anthropological microscope is applied, it is seen that the continent not only has a variety of countries, but also cultures.

Each people has its own history, of which they have an important oral tradition that still persists today.

One of the most used traditions, regardless of their quality, is the use of African masks.

In Africa, masks have functions that are a little closer to the symbolic, to the significant.

They are usually used in the celebration of certain rituals. Masks, for these tribes, were more than just an artistic piece.

They were true divine representations, forms that try to capture (metaphorically and literally) the essence of some entity. It can be a spirit or something else.

We must understand that African masks are inextricably linked to their function. It is common to find in African culture with traditions based on the execution of outlet rituals.

A ritual obeys different reasons.

It is an attempt by man to capture an aspect of reality through his own productions.

With these masks rituals are made in order to interact and change climatic phenomena, fertility, births and death.