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Unknown Maker
Face Mask (Kple Kple) Face Mask (Kple Kple)
20th century 20th century

A pair of male and female kple kple masks are the first of four mask types that can appear in goli, a Baule dance performed as entertainment and at the funerals of important men. Worn by young boys attired in netted costumes and an animal hide cape, the kple kple is considered to be a junior mask, the least prestigious of goli masks. In the ritual, it would be followed by successively more important male-female mask pairs, culminating in a high-ranking female face mask known as kpan.

The kple kple mask is notable for its distinctive flat, circular form surmounted by horns, projecting round eyes, rectangular mouth, and long streamers of raffia attached to its sides. The Baule differentiate its gender through colour. The residual black pigmentation on the round face of this mask suggests it is female. The male mask, often red, would appear alongside it and would be identical in shape.

The abstract, geometric features of kple kple are unusual in Baule art, and reflect the fact that the goli dance was borrowed over a hundred years ago from the neighbouring Wan peoples. Through the use of linked male/female pairs, the Baule version of goli stresses the interconnectedness between men and women.

Unknown Maker
Baule peoples Baule peoples
Face Mask (Kple Kple) Face Mask (Kple Kple)
20th century 20th century
wood, pigment wood, pigment
height / width / depth: 43.70 x 23.70 x 8.50 cm; 17.20 x 9.33 x 3.35 in.
Gift of Justin and Elisabeth Lang, 1984 Gift of Justin and Elisabeth Lang, 1984
M84-130

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