Gobé Koné, +1951

Gobé Koné from Gbon is one of the old Fono masters. He worked in an excellent casting technic. The surface of his thin masks are flawless and smooth. In total there are 11 masks documentated. All have the same size and shape. Gobé did use a template made of clay, were he formed the main shape of the mask. His fine and fragile decoration elements are always different and vary in each mask.

The shown mask from Gobe Koné was made around 1930 and does show a wonderful patina.

Songuimai Koné (*1933 +1996) was Gobé Koné's son, who also worked as a Fono. Same as Gobé's brother, Ziemogo Koné (+1985), who casted more Gniniguefobele statues than masks.