Description:

West Africa, central Ivory Coast, Baule peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden face mask - called a gba gba (also gbagba) - of ovoid form bearing the countenance of an idealized female. Her burnished face presents with a slender nose, sweeping brows above slender eyes, slightly pursed lips, and a petite rectangular cicatrice on each cheek. An incised, double-lobed coiffure projects from behind her engraved hairline to accentuate her femininity, and the entire mask is covered in warm espresso-hued patina. Size: 58.75" W x 10.75" H (149.2 cm x 27.3 cm); 15" H (38.1 cm) on included custom stand.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1997.277

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private New Jersey, USA collection; ex-private N. Wilson collection

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#172164

  • Condition: Small chips to lips, peripheries, and verso, with light earthen deposits within some incised details, otherwise intact and excellent. Nice warm patina across obverse.

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October 27, 2022 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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