Anthropomorphic head "gle" · Côte d'Ivoire, Wè-Guéré · ID: 3052097
Sold
EUR 500
Provenance
Galerie Lemaire, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsWerner & Lotte Krause, Hamburg, Germany (1982)
Size
H: 15,5 cm
H: 6.1 inch
Description
terracotta, cowrie snails, animal hair, wild boar tusk, red pigment,
A “gle” head was a sacred object and was considered a kind of spirit that was consulted especially in divination practices.
The head was modelled from clay to which all kinds of magical substances were added and which was also coated with power-giving substances to fully activate its powers.
Comparing literature
Petridis, C. (ed.), Frans M. Olbrechts 1899-1958, In search of Art in Africa, Antwerp 2001, cat. 102