Rare mask · Liberia, Kru/Grebo · ID: 3041608

Name: Rare mask
SKU: 3041608
Price: 4400 EUR
Availability: SoldOut

sold EUR 4,400

Provenance

Harrie Heinemans, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Gerhard de Vos, Dormagen, Germany
Hans Reinmöller, Ratingen, Germany (1995)

Size

H: 30,5 cm

H: 12.0 inch

Description

wood, matt patina, remains of polychrome paint, eyes with mirror glass, min. dam., cracks, small missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, base.
The abstract forms, especially the eyes in form of protruding cylinders inspired famous artists like f. e. Picasso.
The Grebo, who belong to the larger Kru ethnic group, live in south-eastern Liberia on the border with the Ivory Coast.
The principle function of these masks was in the exercising of control, principally over an enemy, during wars between groups. There are still a few in existence, where today they are used only in festivals.

The object Rare mask with the object ID 3041608 was part of the auction 88th Tribal Art Auction on March 10, 2018. The object with the lot number 130 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,400 with an asking price of EUR 4,000.

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

Rubin, William (Hg.), Primitivismus in der Kunst des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts, München 1984, p. 313, ill. 417 Boyer, Alain-Michel, Classic Art of The Ivory Coast, Paris 2017, p. 75