Refined Dan Deangle Mask with Classic Elongated Features, Liberia/Côte d’Ivoire

Grebo / Kru Mask Côte d'Ivoire, 20th Century Carved wood 11¼ h × 6¾ w × 5 d in (29 × 17 × 13 cm) Height on stand: 16.5 in A striking Grebo (Kru) mask from Côte d'Ivoire, distinguishe...

A royal chair in Asante society It is a sign of power and prestige used exclusively by chiefs. The chair is made of a hand carved wood frame covered with hammered brass tacks and stu...

With a beautiful dark patina, this early 20th century wooden mask shows a naturalistic human face, flattened, with the forehead, open mouth and stylised teeth in light relief; the ri...

A Guere wood mask with paint and fiber remnant from We people displayed on a metal stand. The We people (also known as the Krahn or Guere) are an indigenous African people that inhabit areas in nowadays eastern Liberia and western Côte d'Ivoire. Their material culture shares many aspects with the neighboring Dan tribe. Like the Dans, the We use a wide variety of masquerades, which hold important regulatory position within their small, egalitarian communities. Masks are owned by families and used by individual lineage members in contexts of social control, ritual ceremony and entertainment. This type of Guere mask, however, has a distinct fearsome character. The ferocious design with jagged facial expression, bulging tubular eyes are intended for use in mediations between community members, as visual aids during moral lessons, as well as forms of entertainment. By portraying the more frightening nature of the animal, the mask is viewed as powerful and may have been used as part of social control methods prior to the introduction of Western law systems during the colonial period. The mask on offer, based on our examination, appears to be an original one that was used natively instead of reproduction made for the tourist market. The surface presents apparently genuine patina consistent with use. The red paint that highlights the eyes and gapping mouth also appear original. There are small losses flanking the nose ridge by the eyes, extensive surface accretion, remain of some fiber tassels. The back of the mask reveals chisel marks from hand tools and importantly, stain marks that were likely from repetitive contacts from the nose of the wearer. The mask is 9" in height, and it retains an old Sotheby’s catalog...