Female singer mask "nineagla" · Côte d'Ivoire, Wè / Guéré / Wobé · ID: 3045717
Yves Créhalet, Paris, France
Rive Gauche, Paris, 18 November 2013, lot 70
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”.
The object Female singer mask “nineagla” with the object ID 3045717 was last part of the auction 92nd Tribal Art Auction at June 29, 2019 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 146.
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
Galerie Helene Kamer (ed.), Guere-Wobe-Bete, Paris 1978, ill. 28
Publications
Luc Berthier et Marie-Noel Verger-Fèvre, "Dan, le Regard intérieur", African Muse Gallery-Luc Berthier, Paris, 2005, p. 2