A superb Baule-Guro mask, possibly Sakassou district, Ivory Coast

the deep collar with a human head of elliptical form, the volumetric and convex face with expressive open, downturned mouth, straight nose and heavy-lidded downcast eyes framed by raised scarification; wearing a tall quatri-partite coiffure with a knob at the crest; two handwritten labels 'CLL. Nr. 84 exhibition Arts Africain, March – May 70, Musée Cantini, Marseille' and 'Ancestral Mask. The Atie is a small tribe which speaks the Akan language, living on the Ivory Coast among the Baule, Agni, and neighboring tribes. They often seem to borrow their sculptural forms from their neighbors, especially the Baule. Ex-collection A. Muller, Saint-Gratien. Height: 40cm.' on inside; reddish brown patina.

Alfred Müller, St. Gratien
John J. Klejman, New York
Acquired from the above

Musée Cantini, Marseille, Arts africains, March - May, 1970

Musée Cantini (ed.), Arts africains, Marseille, 1970, cat. 84

Good condition overall; surface abraded; knob at the top broken and repaired.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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For three masks by the same hand cf. La Chuaux-de-Fonds (ed.), Afrique Noire: Sculptures des Collections Privées Suisses (1971: cat. no. 256) for an example formerly in the Lavigne Collection; and Boyer, Girard and Rivière, Arts premiers de Côte d'Ivoire (1997: 82, no. 72); and 'Antiquaires 2007, Tour and Taxis: Claes', 52e Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique [exhibition catalogue] (2007).