Lot 425

Early Kulango Female Figure, Bush Cow Helmet Mask

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Lot 425
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Early Kulango Female Figure, Bush Cow Helmet Mask
Early Kulango Female Figure, Bush Cow Helmet Mask
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Early Kulango Female Figure, Bush Cow Helmet Mask

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Current Bid: $425

(2 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
July 30, 2026 8:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

West Africa, Ivory Coast, Kulango, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. A standing nude female carved from a single block of dense hardwood, her surface burnished to a deep, glowing patina earned through long handling and ritual attention. Crowning her head rises an elaborate horned helmet mask of the bush cow type, its two great horns sweeping upward in a commanding lyre-shaped arc, framing an ovoid coiffure at the rear. Fine linear scarification patterns the temples and cheeks, while a raised keloid column descends the torso. A ringed neck, pendulous breasts, and softly flexed knees convey vigor and fertility. Traces of blue and white pigment linger in the recessed carving, residue of the ceremonial decoration that once animated this arresting figure, likely a shrine guardian or vehicle for ancestral and protective power. Size: 4" W x 25" H x 5" D (10.2 cm W x 63.5 cm H x 12.7 cm D).

The Kulango (also Koulango) inhabit the northeastern savanna of Ivory Coast, near the Ghanaian border, in a cultural zone that absorbed influences from Akan, Lobi, and Senufo neighbors. Their figural sculpture is comparatively rare on the market. The bush cow (or buffalo) horns crowning this figure carry a potent charge across the West African savanna, where the animal embodies wild, untamable strength and is invoked in initiation and protective contexts. The fusion of a fertile female body with the aggressive masculine emblem of the horned mask suggests a figure meant to mediate between domesticated and wild forces, perhaps kept within a family or communal shrine as a focus for offerings.

Provenance: private Louisville, Kentucky, USA collection, acquired 1990-1998

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Item # 203566

  • Condition: Old losses from inactive insect activity to the neck and right foot through the pedestal. Some pressure fissures and abrasions. Lustrous patina throughout. Some with custom display base.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $749 $25
$750 $1,499 $50
$1,500 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $7,499 $250
$7,500 $14,999 $500
$15,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000