Male Face Mask (Zamble)

Possibly early or mid–20th century

Guro
Côte d’Ivoire
Coastal West Africa

Representing a capricious and fearsome nature spirit, zamble is the name of a mask type that combines animal and human features, including antelope horns and the jaw of a dog or crocodile. In times past, zamble primarily appeared on the occasion of a man’s second funeral, which would be organized months or years after the actual burial to commemorate the accomplishments of the deceased. Performances took the form of competitions between mask dancersfrom two different families.

Status: On View, Gallery 137
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Guro
Title: Male Face Mask (Zamble)
Place: Côte d'Ivoire (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1900–1950
Medium: Wood and pigment
Dimensions: H.: 46 cm (18 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior bequest of Florene May Schoenborn
Reference Number: 2017.107

Lucas Ratton. 2015. Animaux, exh. cat. (Galerie Lucas Ratton, Paris), pp. 88 and 89 (ill.)
Jacques Germain. 2017. Art Ancien de l’Afrique Noire, vol. VIII (Paris and Montreal, Jacques Germain Arts Ethnographiques, Inc.), pp. 146-147 (ill.).
Constantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 24, pp. 78-79 (ill.).

Paris, Galerie Lucas Ratton, Animaux, 2015, cat. pp. 88 and 89.

Unknown private collection, Paris [personal communication from J. Germain in curatorial file]; sold to Galerie Lucas Ratton, Paris, by 2015 [Lucas Ratton, 2015, pp. 88 and 89]; sold to Galerie Jacques Germain, Montreal, 2015 [personal communication from J. Germain in curatorial file; Jacques Germain, 2017, pp. 146-147]; sold to the Art Institute, 2017.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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