Anthropozoomorphic face mask, ca. 1890–1920 · Côte d'Ivoire, Wé-Guéré (Ngere) / Wobé · ID: 3052248
Victor J. Schenk, Baltimore, USA
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, Germany, 2 June 2012, lot 312
Fernandez Leventhal Gallery, New York, USA
North German Private Collection (2013)
Description
wood, pigments, animal fur, nails, with hinged jaw, base
The Ngere are an ethnic group residing in southwestern Ivory Coast and Liberia, also known as the Southern Wè.
The typical Ngere masks are characterised by grotesquely exaggerated human and zoomorphic features. Their wild appearance led to them often being referred to as warrior masks.
According to Boyer, masks such as this one are referred to as “tehe gla” - bravery masks. “Tehe gla” means boldness and fearlessness. In earlier times, they are said to have exhorted and spurred on the men before they went into battle with dances and songs, such as the following: “do not fear your enemies, only the fearful man will die”. Reputed to be invulnerable, immune to bullets, it even stood, it is said, in front of the fighters. According to Marie-Noëlle Verger-Fèvre, “during the battle, “tehe gla” mingled with the fighters to throw arrows or spears, which were aimed less at the actual enemies than at the spirits who had come to support them.”
Comparing literature
Boyer, Alain-Michel, We, Milan 2019, p. 50 Marie-Noëlle Verger-Fèvre, Côte d'Ivoire: Masques du pays We, in: Tribal Art, Spring 2005 (9), p. 108
Publications
Museum of African Art (ed.), The de Havenon Collection, Washington D.C. 1971, ill. 86
AHDRC: 0146098
Exhibition
Washington D. C.: Museum of African Art: The de Havenon Collection, Washington D. C. 1971