Standing ape figure "gbekre" · Côte d'Ivoire, Baule · ID: 3034822
Carlo Grossetti, Milan, Italy
Alex Vömel, Düsseldorf, Germany
Description
light brown wood, encrusted brown patina, sacrificial traces, anthropomorphic facial features, dam., missing parts through insect caused damage (base, area of the hips), cracks, base;
“gbekre” figures belong to secret societies, village communities or individual families. They always look wild and aggressive. They are currently sacrificed with blood and eggs, which is why the whole figure is coated by a thick layer of encrusted blackish patina. They fulfill various tasks, serve for protection of the family or were used for soothsaying.
The object Standing ape figure “gbekre” with the object ID 3034822 was last part of the auction 85th Tribal Art Auction at March 4, 2017 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 171 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,500.
You can find more Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Publications
AHDRC: 0139785