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Male and female mblo masks, highly valued by the Baule people, are used in a variety of entertainment dances. Wearing elaborate coiffures and delicate facial scars, they are seen as portraits of known individuals. Their idealized rendering embodies core traits of Baule aesthetics, including lustrous skin, a high forehead, and downcast eyes, signs of good health, intelligence, and admiration, respectively.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
f379fa41d3a9b028
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
147842
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "147842",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Portrait Mask (mblo)",
    "description": "Male and female mblo masks, highly valued by the Baule people, are used in a variety of entertainment dances. Wearing elaborate coiffures and delicate facial scars, they are seen as portraits of known individuals. Their idealized rendering embodies core traits of Baule aesthetics, including lustrous skin, a high forehead, and downcast eyes, signs of good health, intelligence, and admiration, respectively.",
    "date": "early to mid-1900s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1974.203",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Mask"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 41.2 cm (16 1/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Baule-style carver"
    ],
    "accession": "1974.203"
}

Context sent to Scholar

Document identity
{
    "localId": "147842",
    "label": "Portrait Mask (mblo)",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "147842",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Portrait Mask (mblo)",
    "description": "Male and female mblo masks, highly valued by the Baule people, are used in a variety of entertainment dances. Wearing elaborate coiffures and delicate facial scars, they are seen as portraits of known individuals. Their idealized rendering embodies core traits of Baule aesthetics, including lustrous skin, a high forehead, and downcast eyes, signs of good health, intelligence, and admiration, respectively.",
    "date": "early to mid-1900s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1974.203",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Mask"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 41.2 cm (16 1/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Baule-style carver"
    ],
    "accession": "1974.203"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "Wood and paint",
    "tombstone": "Portrait Mask (mblo), early to mid-1900s. Africa, West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Baule-style carver. Wood and paint; overall: 41.2 cm (16 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White, 1974.203",
    "collection": "African Art",
    "formerAccessionNumbers": [
        "623.68"
    ],
    "didYouKnow": "This may be a portrait mask of a respected female elder.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Fagg, William, and Cleveland Museum of Art. 1968. <em>African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 78."
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1974.203",
    "creditline": "Gift of Katherine C. White",
    "updatedAt": "2026-06-16 14:24:42.537000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 147842,
    "dept": "African Art",
    "coll": "African Art",
    "med": "Wood and paint",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1974.203/1974.203_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "f379fa41d3a9b028"
}