Yoruba - 240737 - Extremly Rare Yoruba Gelede Head mask - Kifouli Dossou - Nigeria.

Extremly Rare Yoruba Gelede Head mask - Kifouli Dossou - Nigeria.
Carved from a single piece of wood, with color pigments. This Gèlèdé fine art sculpture is hand carved from a singular block of sustainable African Merina wood, requiring up to 100 hours of work. 

Artist: Kifouli Dossou, 

As a Gèlèdé master-artisan, the practice of Kifouli Dossou finds its origins in the cultural ideologies of Fon & Yorùba. Llinked through history, tradition and language to the Kingdom of Dahomey.The oral tradition of Gèlèdé, one of West Africa’s crown jewels, is inscribed by UNESCO on the List of Humanity’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Kifouli Dossou carves directly in the mass of Merina wood. The craftsman appreciates this peculiar kernel for its striking opalescence, light weight and high resistance, making it notoriously hard to work. Kifouli's awe-inspiring technique is the alliance of a gentle sensuality and a dazzling tour de force, conferring him as one of Benin's highly sought-after master-artisan.


Size: 24 high cm x 27 cm deep. 
Taxatie: 1500 - 1750 euro.

This Yoruba mask from the artist Kifouli Dossou is made in 2010 and was purchased in my private collection in 2011, with a certificate of authenticity.


A Yoruba Gelede mask, by Kifouli Dossou, Benin, of an elongated head with a two birds crowding beaks on the head and a coiffure pulled back to a conical protrusion at the back of the head, the face, painted red, serene with large eyes that have small holes punctured in them, small nose and small mouth and small ears that sit lower than usual, the face with scarification marks on the cheeks and forehead; inside the mask is a signature of the artist.

Kifouli Dossou, comes from a family of mask craftsmen-sculptors. His father Tidjani is a sculptor of small statuettes for vodoun ceremonies and his big brother Amidou Dossou is also a sculptor. From the age of 10, Kifouli began sculpting Gélédé masks. Kifouli handles wood, to produce Gélédé masks, he draws his inspiration from the depths of Fon & Yorùba cultural ideologies.

He was born in 1978 and was primarily inspired by the 1980s. The 1980s were an era of increasing global capitalism, political upheaval, worldwide mass media, wealth discrepancies and distinctive music and fashion, characterised by hip hop and electronic pop music. This had a strong impact on the generation of artists growing up during this time. 

Le Monde, The sculptor Beninois Kifouli Dossou renonce au prix Orisha Launched in 2014, the prize récompense tous les deux and an artiste du continent Africain.

Kifouli Dossou is a Beninese Postwar & Contemporary sculptor. featured Kifouli Dossou's work in the past. Kifouli Dossou'swork has been offered at auction multiple times. Among the artist's sold works is ", which realized 4,889 USD at in 2019.

Catalog of the exhibition "The Survey" at Zinsou foundation: https://issuu.com/fondationzinsou/docs/catalogue_le_sondage_dossou