Baule peoples, Côte d'Ivoire
Late 19th to early 20th century
Wood, cloth, string
24 x 16 x 11.2 cm (9 7/16 x 6 5/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
2005-6-61, gift of Walt Disney World Co., a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (cat. no. 50)
More/Less Information
Baule masks depicting beautiful women (or heroic men), well-known persons, stock characters and domestic animals promote Baule concepts of ideal beauty and values. Rarer than the single face mask is the double mask portraying twins. Twins, whether identical (depicted here) or fraternal, are believed to be good luck and to share a soul. The double mask can appear with a portrait mask, which may be accompanied by the living twins or the surviving single twin, toward the end of a masquerade.
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