Baule sculptors and workshops: two works from Sakassou compared
The Baule female figure attributed to the Sakassou workshop and the portrait mask from the same setting, documented in the Dalton Somaré archive, allow sculptural practice to be studied through two different types of object. Both are dated to the early twentieth century. The figure measures 55 centimetres and is made of wood and glass paste; the wooden mask measures 33 centimetres. Their comparison centres on choices of construction and carving that extend across images serving different purposes.
In the female figure, the upright body combines slightly bent legs with a subtle change of axis between torso and face. The pose remains stable while introducing restrained movement. The hairstyle and scarification contribute to the definition of the person; transitions between body parts make the modelling legible as a whole with the ornament. Proportions, connections between torso and limbs, and relationships between broad surfaces and incised details are particularly useful when comparing works from this setting.
In the portrait mask, continuity of volume is concentrated on the face. The relationship between forehead, eyebrows, nose, cheeks and mouth must establish a presence within the mask’s format. Hairstyle and scarification complete this arrangement. Setting mask and statue side by side reveals the difference between an image articulating the whole body and one concentrating its carving on the face. The Sakassou workshop attribution published in the records provides the framework; examination of the forms develops its meaning.
Research on artists of Côte d’Ivoire has paid particular attention to distinctions between regional tradition, artistic individuality and the transmission of skills. The Museum Rietberg’s African Masters exhibition of 2014 and its catalogue present works attributed to sculptors and working groups, connecting stylistic study with available documentation. This approach allows a Baule sculpture to be considered as the outcome of individual choices: proportions, the rhythm of incisions and solutions in modelling can provide grounds for comparison between works.
A workshop name does not automatically identify the hand of a single artist. For these two archival works, the gallery’s published attribution remains the reference; undocumented personal names or apprenticeship relationships are not added. The mask is also recorded in the 2023 catalogue 4 Masques Baoule du Cercle de Dimbokro. The study of ndoma masks develops their performance context, while the article on spirit spouses examines blolo figures. Here the focus is sculptural practice: reading subject, quality of carving and attribution history together gives substance to the idea of a workshop.
References and comparative works
Museum Rietberg, African Masters – Art from the Ivory Coast, exhibition, 2014.
Didier Claes, 4 Masques Baoule du Cercle de Dimbokro, Bruxelles, 2023.
