Guro: Masks, Performances, and Master Carvers in Ivory Coast

With lavish photographs and fascinating first-person interviews, the world s leading expert on the Guro culture examines the artistic accomplishments of this African people.

The Guro people of Africa s Ivory Coast are renowned for their rich mask and sculpture traditions. These objects of joyful and sublime beauty are used in a variety of social and spiritual ceremonies. Art ethnologist Eberhard Fischer has spent decades researching the Guro traditions and documenting their way of life. In this book he presents a collection of hundreds of images, many of them published for the first time, of masks and woodcarvings, as well as lively scenes of Guro dances and artisans at work. Numerous interviews with prominent Guro, including religious officials, carvers, weavers, dancers, and cult masters, enhance the appreciation of this society. Eberhard s unique understanding of the Guro makes this volume a standard work on the art and culture of these people.