Female singer mask "nineagla"
Côte d'Ivoire, Wè / Guéré / Wobé
not available anymore
Provenance
Stéphane Mangin, Galerie Kanaga, Paris (2002)Yves Créhalet, Paris, France
Rive Gauche, Paris, 18 November 2013, lot 70
Size
H: 27,5 cm
H: 10.8 inch
Description
wood, metal teeth, decorating tags, fabric, plant fibre, animal hair, base
“Nineagla” literally means “young-girl-mask”. Although the masks represent beautiful young girls and always have typical women’s tattoos on the cheeks, they are always danced by boys and young men.
They appear especially after dark and form the lowest level within the mask hierarchy. Himmelheber reports: “Sometimes you can see very young boys with such a mask and only one companion walking through the village and here and there they show their singing skills without any special effort”.