Anthropomorphic mask - Wobé Guere - Côte d'Ivoire

Anthropomorphic Wobé mask, Guéré people, Ivory Coast.

Provenance: Harrison Eiteljorg Private Collection, Indianapolis, United States. A foreground piece, rare for its expressive quality and the power of its face, representative of the greatest Wobé Guéré masks kept in private and reference museum collections.

Exceptional and deeply expressive, this mask unquestionably belongs among the finest productions of its stylistic corpus. Through the power of its face, the intensity of its gaze, and the richness of its materials, it ranks among those rare emblematic works that have left a lasting mark on the history of private and museum collections dedicated to Wobé/Guéré art.

The face, sculpted with remarkable mastery, immediately strikes with its striking expression. The protruding eyes, boldly emphasized, the straight and prominent nose, the partly open mouth with thick lips compose a visage intentionally tense, almost dramatic, meant to impress. The deep red polychromy, combined with black and vegetal materials, further accentuates this expressive charge. The extensive use of fibers, antique fabrics, and added elements gives the mask a spectacular and lifelike character, reinforcing the idea of metamorphosis inherent to Wobé Guéré masquerades. The whole conveys a rare presence, both powerful and masterful.

In Wobé Guéré culture, these masks intervened in major ritual and social contexts: ceremonies, demonstrations of power, regulation of community tensions, or displays of authority. Their function was not merely aesthetic but deeply performative, the mask embodying an active force, sometimes feared, capable of maintaining order, intimidating, or protecting. The expressive violence assumed by this type of mask explains the constant interest it has aroused among collectors and institutions since the early 20th century.

In terms of its sculptural quality, its condition, and the coherence of its materials, this specimen stands out as one of the most accomplished of its kind, joining the lineage of the great Wobé Guéré masks preserved in leading collections around the world.

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