Face mask with tubular eyes and articulated jaw ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Wè / Wobé / Guéré · ID: 3046109

Description

wood, decorative nails, cartridge cases, real hair, pigment remains, inscribed “179”, base

There are two distinct types of Wè mask: masks that are used for entertainment purposes and masks that play a role in exercising social control.

The first group is divided into singer masks “ninea-gla”, dance masks “be-gla” and joker masks. The group of social masks includes the “te-gla” masks (police or guardian masks), which fulfil the most diverse everyday functions.

The object Face mask with tubular eyes and articulated jaw with the object ID 3046109 was last part of the auction 93rd Tribal Art Auction at November 16, 2019 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 152 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,500.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.

Comparing literature

Homberger, Lorenz, Masken der Wè und Dan, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1997, p. 14 f.