250927 - Antique African ritual Grebo dance sculpture with mask - Iv. Coast.

Antique & Expressive African large Grebo ritual dance sculpture with mask from Iv. Coast.

Height are 64 cm on stand.

This Grebe sculpture are dated first half of the 20th century and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

The item is representing a seated dancer, carrying a Grebo mask,

Scarce representation, with wood cracks.

This item is too larged and fragile to be combined with other items.

Grebo people (or Glebo) is a term used to refer to an ethnic group or subgroup within the larger Kru group of Africa, a language and cultural ethnicity, and to certain of its constituent elements. Within Liberia members of this group are found primarily in Maryland County and Grand Kru County in the southeastern portion of the country, but also in River Gee County and Sinoe County. The Grebo population in Côte d'Ivoire are known as the Krumen and are found in the southwestern corner of that country.

A 2001 estimate of the number of Grebo people in Liberia is approximately 387,000. There are an estimated 48,300 Grebo in Côte d'Ivoire, not counting refugees. Precise numbers are lacking, since many have been displaced by the civil war in Liberia of the late 20th and early 21st century.

Traditional Grebo people had what were known as bush schools (poro for males and sande for females); these and their associated societies have continued to be part of the culture. Historically the poro(s) adapted to new condition by establishing Masonic lodges of the European-American style of fraternal society.