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190 - Bété /Wè mask, Ivory Coast, wood, H.24cmxW.15cm. Charged with imposing peace during internal conflicts, or coming "to mingle with the combatants during battle, throwing arrows or assegais intended less for the real adversaries than for the spirits who have come to support them", these masks imposed their terrifying figure, materializing the hostile forces of the forest. The aesthetics of strength, whose data "bring out the unknown rather than order the known" (Meurant, Ubangi, 2008, p. 141), are matched here by the masterly architecture of the forms and the profusion of metal nail heads that light up the surface. Around the tubular eyes and open mouth (the mask's only figurative elements), a network of bands develops - undulating in the lower half of the face and straight in the upper part - which, forming a second mask on the sculpted face, masterfully illustrates the plastic inventiveness of sculptors from this region.
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Estimation
€600 - 800Sale fees
Bété /Wè mask, Ivory Coast, wood, H.24cmxW.15cm. Charged with imposing peace during internal conflicts, or coming "to mingle with the combatants during battle, throwing arrows or assegais intended less for the real adversaries than for the spirits who have come to support them", these masks imposed their terrifying figure, materializing the hostile forces of the forest. The aesthetics of strength, whose data "bring out the unknown rather than order the known" (Meurant, Ubangi, 2008, p. 141), are matched here by the masterly architecture of the forms and the profusion of metal nail heads that light up the surface. Around the tubular eyes and open mouth (the mask's only figurative elements), a network of bands develops - undulating in the lower half of the face and straight in the upper part - which, forming a second mask on the sculpted face, masterfully illustrates the plastic inventiveness of sculptors from this region.
Auction details
Primitive ArtAuction house
Blanchet & Associés +33 1 53 34 14 44 encheres.blanchet@gmail.comDelivery is optional. You can use the carrier of your choice. The stated price does not include the lot price or the auction house fees.