Beautiful Gu mask with a hairstyle of intertwined, falling braids and eliminated teeth. Gu masks, which are always the property of a specific individual and the prerogative of a family's prestige, embody and celebrate the beauty of the woman, who in Gouro society is either the daughter of or the wife of. The gu mask appears at dances where she sings the praises of zamble, dances lasciviously, and sets the stones of the home of young wives and protects them from any malevolence on the part of the family to which they are married. The specialized literature describes the disappearance of the practice of tooth filing around 1920, as an ancient tradition more related to aesthetics than to a ritual practice. The color red is directly associated with femininity and the braided hairstyle could indicate precisely the rank of the woman it embodied. The inside of the hoof of this mask has an eloquent patina that testifies to its age, long use and numerous dances. Gouro, Ivory Coast Wood, ochre pigment, old wear, very beautiful patina. H. 34 cm Provenance : Christian Debenest Collection Publication: Pierre Bergé & Associés sale - La Collection d'un Amateur - April 8, 2016, lot 153 page 122 and 123.