A superb Baule "moon" mask

of delicate proportions, the raised circular facial plane outlined by a serrated flange, the small notched mouth beneath the slender nose continuing in a medial ridge to the forehead and framed by close-set slit eyes, scarification at the temples and C-shaped ears; pierced at the back collar for attachment; exceptionally fine, softly worn deep brown patina.

Hurst Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Dorothy Brill Robbins, New York

New York, Museum for African Art, Baule: African Art Western Eyes, September 11, 1998 - January 2, 1999

Bleakley 1978: figure 17
Hurst 1987: 14, figure 15
Vogel 1997: 161

Moon masks are exceptionally rare. Fewer than five are know to exist. See Vogel 1997: 160-161 for a moon mask in the Horstmann Collection and another, formerly in the collection of Marceau Riviere. The Brill mask is highly sophisticated in its evocation of the moon: the circular facial plane is carved in relief against the halo surrounding it, just as the moon's shape is emphasized by the light it emanates. The face is divided into quarters with the raised medial ridge continuing down to the philtrum and mouth forming a vertical axis, centrally intersected by a horizontal axis formed by the slit eyes and adjacent scarification. This iconography may be an allusion to the four phases of the moon. This interpretation is reinforced by the crescent line beneath the right eye, suggesting the moon at its waxing or waning phase.

According to Vogel (1997: 149) this mask may have performed at the beginning of the Gbagba mask sequence to initiate or 'warm up' the performance space. The Gbagba dance is generally put together as a form of entertainment incorporating narratives of daily life and proverbs, the masks representing different types of people and natural phenomena.