Kwele mask Gabon Wood, pigments Dim.: 23 x... Lot 150

Kwele mask Gabon Wood, pigments Dim.: 23 x 32 cm. Stylized anthropozoomorphic mask, whose face is surmounted by long sinusoidal horns, known as "W-shaped horns". On the bleached cordiform face, the eyes are wrinkled and swollen in high relief. The horns are decorated with miniature faces. This style of mask belongs to the initiatory society of the Beete, made up of warriors and notables. The Beete had to resolve crisis situations, ward off danger or promote the collective life of the village. The mask evokes the tutelary ancestor, through the stylised face, but also a spirit of the kuk forest related to an antelope. Non-tribal artistic creation object (the sculpture expressing itself beyond the classical canons of the socio-cultural group). Consultant : Jean-Pierre LACOSTE