Female singer mask "nineagla" · Côte d'Ivoire, Wè - Wobé · ID: 3048741
H.K. Galerie, St. Gallen, Switzerland (Helene Knill and Hans Koller)
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 11 September 2004, Lot 923
Werner Zintl, Worms, Germany
Description
wood, kaolin, pigments, plant fibre, fabric, human hair, metal, cartridge cases,
Singer masks belong to the category of entertainment masks. They depict beautiful young girls (= “nineagla”), but are worn by boys and young men.
Himmelheber reports that “sometimes quite young boys go through the village with such a mask and only one companion and show their singing art here and there without any special effort”.
The object Female singer mask “nineagla” with the object ID 3048741 was part of the auction 98th Auction on March 26, 2022. The object with the lot number 45 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,800 with an asking price of EUR 1,000.
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
Lorenz Homberger (Hrsg.), Masken der Wè und Dan, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1997, p. 25, ill. 13