Auction 414 | AFRICA, OCEANIA & AMERICAS - GIOIELLI DAL MONDO E ARTE AFRICANA Online
Lot 287
A mask in the shape of a human face characterized by fine and graceful features, semicircular eyes, a long and thin nose, a small and sober mouth, temporal scarifications, a zigzag line in the lower part of the face that declares its obvious Yauré influence, and a very distinctive hairstyle. What to some might in fact look like a "rockabilly"-style topknot to others represents the fusion of two horns into a single central horn, which gives this mask the status of anthropozoomorphic, making it rightfully part of the Kpwan ple masks belonging to the large family of the N'guli or Goli.
Kpwan ple masks were displayed in pairs during ceremonies and differed from each other in their different coloring: one was red, the other black.
In the case of this mask, the industrial red color used unfortunately affects the eye of the hasty observer who might doubt the 'antiquity of this work, hastily categorizing it as young and/or recent.
Therefore, I urge you to take a close look at this mask (you will also discover a ritual iron embedded in the back of the horn) and give it the proper time it deserves.
Measures: 32.0 x 15.0 x 11.0 cm
Starting price: € 600,00
Estimate: € 1.200,00 - 2.000,00
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