Description:

West Africa, Ivory Coast, Gere (also Ngere or Guere) peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden face mask with a pair of petite eye holes drilled above the bulbous nose. The 'eyes' are comprised of mirrored glass fragments set within wooden cylinders above tufts of animal hair, and the brow is lined with several conical antelope horns as well as a textile wrapped fibrous headband lined with several cowrie snail shells. The enlarged mouth is accentuated with red pigment for anthropomorphic detailing. Size: 6.5" W x 9.7" H (16.5 cm x 24.6 cm); 19.1" H (48.5 cm) on included custom stand.

A stylistically similar example of a Gere mask can be seen in Bacquart, Jean-Baptiste. "The Tribal Arts of Africa: Surveying Africa's Artistic Geography." Thames & Hudson, New York, 2000, p. 44, fig. 5.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Allan Stone collection, New York, New York, USA

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#156559

  • Condition: Abrasions and nicks to face and peripheries, with fraying to some hair fibers, fading to pigment, and light encrustations, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits and remains of pigment throughout.

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September 10, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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