Baule Mask

The Baule understanding of representation and identity is constructed through group associations of religious identity and beauty standards.
Aesthetics present here and common among female beauty masks are a thin nose and delicate face. The narrow shape of the face is in itself delicate, but the shaping of the eyebrows reinforce the delicacy of the long nose and make the mask appear even thinner. The thin, downcast eyes also represent a respectful demeanor, as direct eye contact is considered uncouth. Adherence to a beauty standard is most apparent in the mask. The presence of varied beauty standards indicates the influence from local regions that is common in Baule art.
The light color is achieved through application of kaolin, a pale clay. In this context, light coloring represents both moral purity and a valued skin tone. In its home culture, white is associated with the spirit realm / indicates “an aspect of the spirit world”. The understanding of the spirit realm indicated by the kaolin is not to portray specific individuals, but rather a more general ‘incarnate dead’.