Face mask with tubular eyes · Côte d'Ivoire, Wè - Guéré (Ngere) · ID: 3048705
Africa Centre, Cadier en Keer, The Netherlands
Ulrich Bohnen, Eschweiler, Germany (1968)
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 26 November 2005, Lot 129
Werner Zintl, Worms, Germany
The Africa Centre was originally a Mission House which was established in Cadier en Keer in 1892 by the Society for African Missions (SMA). The missionary fathers focused their work mainly in West Africa and acquired in the course of the first half of the 20th century a large collection of ancestor sculptures, masks, daily use objects, fertility statues and gold weights.
The Africa Centre itself was founded in 1959 with the aim to exhibit the missionaries’ collection of African artefacts and also to raise public interest for West African art and traditions.
Description
wood, black paint, red pigment, metal, cotton, animal fur,
The appearance of male masks of the Wè region varies greatly and does not give any information about their exact function.
Attributes held by the dancer and the colour of the mask can give clues. Black means “dangerous”, “mischievous” and is therefore the colour of the “tegla” - “policeman’s or guardian’s masks”, which held a wealth of social functions in everyday life.
Comparing literature
Homberger, Lorenz, Masken der Wè und Dan, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1997, p. 54, ill. 15