Online catalogue for the 67th tribal art auction
219 Mask "gu"
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Guro, Area of Daloa
wood, honey brown patina, accents in dark brown, kaolin, indigo blue pigment, of narrow elongated form with a concave vaulted facial plane, sickle-shaped pierced eyes slightly asymmetrical arranged, flanking a delicate pointed nose, striated eyebrows, raised scarification marks across the forehead, at the root of the nose and on the cheeks, fine grooved coiffure with indicated ram horns, old collection label backside "6", at the same place in white paint numbered "B 17", min. dam., minor missing parts; "gu" is always carved "uanya iri nya", i. e. according to the image of "a beautiful woman". But it is always danced by men. A conical basket, attached to the mask is put over the dancers back of the head, thus helping the dancer to fix the mask in front of the face. The dancer wears a netlike costume, abundant grass fibre bunches, a womans cloth mainly in blue and an antelope pelt. Together with "zauli" - a grotesque animal mask with long horns - and "zamble" whose face should remind of a leopard or a crocodile - "gu" forms one mask family. "Gu" is always depicted as a young woman, who is considered to be zambles wife. During the masquerade she appears after the two zoomorphic masks "zaule" and "zamble", accompanied by flutes, moving slowly and charming, singing in honour of "zamble".
H: 26,5 cm
H: 10.4 inch
Provenance
Hans Himmelheber, Heidelberg, Germany (1935)
Lore Kegel, Hamburg, Germany
Literature
Homberger, Lorenz, Fischer, Eberhard, Die Kunst der Guro, Elfenbeinküste, Museum Rietberg, Zürich 1985, p. 157 f. , ill. 78
Sold.
220 Mask
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Ngere
wood, shiny brown patina, kaolin, cowrie snails, almond-shaped eyes accentuated by kaolin with small see slits, dominated by a broad mouth with full lips and metal teeth, the face framed by a coiffure of drilled woolen threads and a beard made from human hair, pierced around the rim., slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base; the Ngere are also called the Southern Wè. They are setteled to the southeast of the Dan and to the west of the Bete. The typical Ngere masks, however indulge in extreme presentations of human and zoomorphic elements.
H: 26 cm
H: 10.2 inch
Provenance
William und Joyce Nicholson, New Jersey, USA
Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 14th and 15th, 1977, lot 504
Coll. Lorne Balshine, Vancouver BC, Canada
Literature
Homberger, Lorenz, Masken der Wè und Dan, Elfenbeinküste, Zürich 1997, p. 51, ill. 6
Sold.
221 Mask
Ivory Coast, Ngere
wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, animal hair, plant fibre, fabric, protruding eyes flanking a broad nose, an open mouth with a moustache, metal teeth and a tongue coated with red fabric, a beard made from plaited plant fibres, collection number at the back "Gouere No 19", pierced around the rim, min. dam., traces of abrasion
H: 23 cm
H: 9.1 inch
Provenance
Coll. Kröner, Gerlingen, Germany
Literature
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Lexikon Afrikanische Kunst und Kultur, München, Berlin 1994, p. 297
Price: 500 - 1000 €
222 Ceremonial headdress "kwonro"
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Senufo
wood, greyish brown patina, min. remains of black paint and kaolin, a board-shaped crest with the stylized silhouette of a monitor lizard in openwork design in the centre, two tufts of feathers on top, rising from a wickerwork base, slightly dam., paint rubbed off; the "kwonro" ceremonial headdress is a type which was worn by Nafana initiates, who were lavishly decorated with white cowrie shell ornaments, in a public dance that celebrates to the community the completion of "kwonro" and the second grade of "poro". The flat openwork board would originally have been covered with ritual white paint in the checkerboard patterns. The openwork figure or ideogram in the centre is one of the most common images in Senufo graphic arts, that of the "ndeo" or nature spirit. These crests are rare, only few of them are preserved.
M: 76 cm x 57 cm (board), H: 87,5 cm
M: 29.9 inch x 22.4 inch (board), H: 34.4 inch
Literature
Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 17 f.
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, ill. 50
Barbier, Jean Paul (ed.), Art of Côte d' Ivoire, Vol II, Genf 1993, cat. 11
Price: 5000 - 10000 €
223 Dance crest "dagu"
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Senufo
wood, slightly encrusted greyish brown patina, helmet-shaped, surmounted by a stylized ox with broad horns, rep. (right horn), cracks, slight traces of abrasion; used for ceremonies preparing young men for the actual initiation, the membership of the "poro" society. The dancers wore abundant costumes: long trousers, various capes, long strings with affixed brass bells, while the crest itself was ornated with cowrie snails, feathers and a long band of fabric at the back. The horns symbolize cattle, which makes sense, because the young men who have passed "zeu" were looked upon as "nescient" and therefore "scary oxes".
H: 62 cm
H: 24.4 inch
Provenance
Karl-Heinz Krieg, Neuenkirchen, Germany (1970)
Ralf Lüders, Stuttgart, Germany
Literature
Guenneguez, André et Afo, Art de la Cote-d'Ivoire et de ses voisins, Paris o.J., p. 107
Sold.
224 Mask "korobla"
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Senufo
wood, blackish brown patina, composed of different animals: crocodile's snout, tusks of a warthog, buffalo horns, crowned by a small vessel and a chamaeleon, rep. (horns), slight traces of insect caused damage and abrasion; appearing at funeral services and above all by night when the witches use to roam the village to look for new victims. The "korobla" shall ambush them, because the Senufo belief her to be stronger than any witch. She is extraordinary fast and in former times she was known for her ability to spit "fire". She utters long screams and as soon as she makes out a witch, she mightily chases her away.
L: 90 cm
L: 35.4 inch
Provenance
Sotheby Parke Bernet, November 8th, 1972, lot 85
American Private Collection, North Carolina
Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 14th and 15th, 1977, lot 512
Coll. Lorne Balshine, Vancouver BC, Canada
Literature
Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 57, ill. 37
Sold.
225 Ladle
Ivory Coast, Senufo
wood, black patina, of unusual form: an egg-shaped hollowed ladle with a small rectangular opening with closure, the handle carved with a standing female figure, slightly dam., paint rubbed off
L: 71 cm
L: 28 inch
Provenance
Lore Kegel, Hamburg, Germany
Coll. Dr. Karl-Heinz Kaufel, Hamburg, Germany
Price: 300 - 600 €
226 Figural carved staff "tefalapica"
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Senufo
wood, shiny, blackish brown patina, round staff, tapering to the end, a sickle-shaped projection on top, surmounted by a standing female figure, with both hands resting aside the bulging belly, incised tattoos on body and face, min. dam., minor missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, fissures, on base; "tefalapica" means "the girl of the man working with the hoe" and presents the trophy money in a kind of hoeing competition. In September and October the young men of the Senufo have to cultivate the new yams fields, an exhausting field work, organized as a kind of competition.
H: 63,5 cm
H: 25 inch
Provenance
Jan Lundberg, Malmö, Sweden
Literature
Förster, Till, Die Kunst der Senufo aus Schweizer Sammlungen, Zürich 1988, p. 19
Price: 6000 - 12000 €
227 Singer mask
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Wobe
wood, dark brown patina, traces of red, white and indigo blue pigment, grass fibre beard and brass bells attached in the chin area, a strip of fur at the same place, tube of fabric sewn with nassa snails around the forehead, metal teeth, nails, incised tattoos on the cheeks, slightly dam.; through the use of metal additions like bells, or aluminium teeth in the upper lip, a mask beomes more powerful and efficient. The shiny effect of the metal and even the sound of the bells carry meaning. Both qualities make the dance more impressive and get the attention of not only the spectators but also the ancestors.
H: 24 cm
H: 9.4 inch
Provenance
French Private Collection
Literature
Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, ill. 48
Price: 5000 - 10000 €
228 Face mask of the "je" group "lomane"
This object is not available any more.
Ivory Coast, Yaure
wood, matt patina, remains of polychrome paint, an oval hollowed face, framed by a zigzag-beard, surmounted by a bird, its long beak reaching down to the forehead, pierced around the rim, rep. (bird), min. dam., missing parts through insect caused damage, slight traces of abrasion, on metal base; present mask type with the depiction of a hornbill is called "lomane", which is a derivation of the word "anoman", which means "bird" in the Baule language. Masks with two bird sculptures on top were considered as part of the "lo"-ensemble, which appears at funerals of wise men, after the "je" masks. "Lomane" used to dance around the body of the deceased, bending over the dead body and touching it. According to the assertion that the mask destroys the worms, decomposing the body, this act could be interpreted as a kind of symbolic purification.
H: 31 cm
H: 12.2 inch
Provenance
René David, Zurich, Switzerland
Literature
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, p. 39
Sold.
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