Lot: 206

89th Tribal Art Auction

Mask with hinged jaw "gle va"

Côte d'Ivoire, Dan/Kran

Provenance Size Starting price / estimated price
American Private Collection H: 16.9 inch 800 EUR
plus 27 % commission, VAT, transport and insurance

wood, fabric, cowrie shells, feather, metal sheet, rep.

"Gle va" is the most important mask spirit of an area. Its main function is to settle important disputes and make peace between villages. To emphasize its importance, it is often larger than the other masks, and physically suggests its power.


Johnson, Barbara C., Four Dan Sculptors, San Francisco 1987, p. 65, ill. 7