Male Face Mask (Zauli)

Possibly early or mid-20th century

Guro
Côte d’Ivoire
Coastal West Africa

Forming a dance trio with masks known as gu and zamble (also on display in this case), zauli—or, “the Ugly”—is sometimes identified as zamble’s elder brother or father, and functions as his handsome counterpart. Zauli is everything that zamble is not: dirty, disorderly, brusque, rude, greedy, and somewhat funny. The mask is both admired and feared for its sudden mood swings and supernatural power. Even though Guro masks are now held primarily for entertainment, they were originally developed to divert evil.

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

Culture: Guro
Title: Male Face Mask (Zauli)
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.: 1900–1975
Medium: Wood, kaolin, and metal tacks
Dimensions: 63 × 17.5 cm (24 3/4 × 6 7/8 in.)
Credit Line: The Art Institute of Chicago, Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene A. Davidson
Reference Number: 1976.21

Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report 1975-76 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1976), pp. 56-57 (ill.).
Warren M. Robbins and Nancy Ingram Nooter, African Art in American Collections (Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989), p. 172 (ill.).
Bouttiaux, Anne-Marie. 2016. Guro: The Permanence of Change. Visions of Africa. 5 Continents Editions, pl. 9 (ill.).
Constantine Petridis et al., Speaking of Objects: African Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. no. 23, pp. 78-79 (ill.).
Constantine Petridis, ed., The Language of Beauty in African Art, ex. cat. (Yale University Press, 2022), cat. no. 254, p. 278 (ill.).

Kimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth, Texas, “The Language of Beauty in African Art”, April 3-July 31, 2022; Art Institute of Chicago, Nov. 20, 2022 - Feb. 27, 2023, cat. no. 254.

Mathias Komor Gallery, New York, N.Y., by 1975 [acquisition documentation in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1976.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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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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