Baule Mask

"The Baule inhabit the geographic center of the Cote d'Ivoire. According to tradition, they are a branch of the Asante that was led into exile by Queen Abla Pokou in the eigteenth century. However, it is more likely that the Baule are an ancient race, related to the proto-Guro and the Lagoon Peoples; they intermixed with wandering Akan tribes, picking up their languages and a number of their cultural institutions. [...] The Baule borrowed the use of masks from the neigbbouring Guro, with whom they share certain characteristics of styles..." Bibliography: Werner Schmalenbach (ed.), African Art, Prestel-Verlag, Munich, 1988, p.122