Portrait Face Mask from Ivory Coast in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2019

Portrait Face Mask (Mblo)
19th–mid-20th century

Baule peoples


Object Details

Title: Portrait Face Mask (Mblo)

Date: 19th–mid-20th century

Geography: Côte d'Ivoire, central Côte d'Ivoire

Culture: Baule peoples

Medium: Wood, pigment, hemp

Dimensions: H. 14 5/8 x W. 5 13/16 x D. 5 in. (37.1 x 14.8 x 12.7 cm)

Classification: Wood-Sculpture

Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979

Accession Number: 1979.206.125


In Baule communities, mblo performances feature masked dancers who impersonate familiar subjects, ranging from animals to human caricatures. Mblo dances culminate in a performance that pays tribute to the community’s most admired member. The honored individual is referenced by a mask conceived as his or her artistic "double" or "namesake.
While such works may depict either men or women, they were often commissioned by a man to honor a female relative or created by a carver in homage to a particular woman's dance skills and beauty. Because of their importance, only the best dancers are eligible to wear portrait masks in performance. On such occasions it is required that the portrait's subject, or "double," be present to accompany it.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/312340