Zoomorphic mask "zamble"
Click here to view a larger version of the imageLot: 159
102nd AuctionZoomorphic mask "zamble"
Côte d'Ivoire, Guro
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
Constance McCormick Fearing Collection, Montecito / Santa Barbara, USA |
H: 15.7 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, colour pigments,
Together with "gu" (his beautiful wife) and "zauli" (his wild grotesque brother), "zamble" forms a sequence of three sacred masks. They are considered helper or tutelary spirits for the whole village where they are settled and regularly received offerings.
Zamble" has to perform when someone important from the clan had died, or if an affair of the village or an important family has to be given particular emphasis.
Fischer, Eberhard, Guro, Masks, Munich, Berlin, London, New York 2008, p. 168