Goli Glen Helmet, Baoulé People, c. 1920

Back to list

In compliance with Law 11/2011 (article 18), cash payments are limited to €1,000.00 for residents in Spain and €10,000.00 for individuals who justify that they have their tax domicile outside Spain. For further information, please click here.

Lot: 605

Goli Glen Helmet, Baoulé People, c. 1920

Goli Glen helmet mask. Baoulé culture, Ivory Coast. h. 1920. Patinated wood, lacquered paint and iron nails. 84 x 35 x 35cm. Historical marks of continued use. Originally restored.

The Baoulé emigrated from Ghana to the Ivory Coast for dynastic reasons. They did not carve in wood but they did melt metal. Little by little, under the influence of the Guro and the Senufo, they learned to sculpt wood, contributing goldsmithing techniques. The result is admired worldwide since his sculptures, very naturalistic and fine, evoke tenderness and lyricism. There is one exception: the Goli cult masks, which tend to be schematic and abstract.

The Goli cult is related to the family, made up of parents and children. It is represented with two pairs of masks, male and female. The masculine Goli Glen mask references the all-powerful nature spirit and is often in the form of a subtle mix of animals evoking it: a buffalo, antelope, crocodile or eagle. They are animals that also represent, on another level, the earth, the water and the air.

The appearance of Goli Glen in the village is associated with male leadership, and with the death of everything that disturbs the community. In its day, even the French colonial administration realized the threat posed by this tradition. For this mission he relies on a supernatural strength that he obtains from the red pigments that chrome the mask (an appropriation of the colonial symbols of power), and from the "medicines" hidden under a cloak. As she dances, she announces her power by striking the skin of an antelope pinned to her back with her staff, which produces a noise similar to that of a gunshot. This aggressive night patrol mask emitting eerie horn sounds to slay witches and demons, strike down enemies in war and honor the funerals of high dignitaries.

In the dances, Goli Glen interacts with other masks in an intricate symbolic theater that ends with a love scene with his female consort: they retire to the sanctuary of the sacred forest, in such a way that they represent the eternal return to nature of all places, previously inhabited and now abandoned by man.

The sculptor of these pieces manifests his genius by carving a cylindrical block of wood, without sketches or preparatory studies, and achieves a beautiful degree of abstraction. This artistry has been highly recognized by figures such as Picasso, who owned a Goli Glen, Rockefeller, who donated a copy to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, or the legendary Verité family, whose collection included a mask that was auctioned in Paris a few years ago. one of each. Another example can also be admired in the Barbier-Mueller museum in Geneva.

We thank Don Ramón Sanz Garvín, an expert in African art, for his help in cataloging this piece. 84 x 35 x 35cm

duran-app.lot.see_more

Object

Goli Glen helmet mask, Baoulé culture, c. 1920

Country

Ivory Coast

Measures

84 x 35 x 35cm

This lot requires export license