240913 - Old Rare African Guere monkey mask - Iv. Coast.

Old & Rare Guere monkey mask from Iv Coast.Height; 32 cm.
Hand carved from a single piece of wood and other material with color pigments.
A Guerre monkey mask, dark wood, round ears, the wide eyebrows covered with red cloth, the eyes round and protruding, decorative nails; some age cracks at the backside. Certificate of origin and provenance.
This Guere monkey mask dates from the mid 20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Lit: Alain-Michel Boyer, We, Visions of Africa, 5 Continents, 2019.

Guere mask. The We live in the southwest of the forested Côte d’Ivoire and the southeast of Liberia. They are in fact two separate tribes – the Guere (also known as Ngere) and the Wobe – although they share numerous customs and beliefs. As symbols of societal beliefs and values, their masks reinforce respect for the rules and functioning of society. The most striking feature of the We masks is often a combination of diverse materials that lends these masks tremendous expressive force. This mask represents a male forest spirit. Formerly, bugle masks carried out important social control functions, including judicial decisions, law enforcement, criminal punishment, fine collection, and dispute settlement. Their aggressive, lively performance was intended to instruct in proper behavior, although in recent decades this punitive power has declined.