Polychrome Guéré Mask - Ivory Coast - Certificate of Authenticity - Private Collection

Polychrome Guéré mask - Ivory Coast. Guéré mask from Ivory Coast. Original piece over 68 years old. The Guéré are an ethnic group from Ivory Coast, living in the western region of the country, near Liberia. They are located in the departments of Bangolo, Duékoué, Guiglo, and Toulepleu and have lived in Eburnie for over seven centuries. While this people currently live mainly between the Cavally River (Liberian border), the Sassandra River (to the east), and south of the 18 Mountains regions, in the past they were settled further north, in what is now Dan country, but were gradually forced to retreat into the forest that characterizes their region, mainly due to the Mandingo invasions of the 17th century. The Wobés and Guérés actually constitute a single people, the We people, artificially divided by the French colonial administration. African art / African tribal art / Afrikanische Kunst. Piece delivered with its certificate of authenticity. Terrifying-looking Guéré mask with bulging features. Aluminum teeth. Wood, fabric, fiber, rifle casings, vegetable dyes. Provenance: Collected in situ by the owner around 1956 in the Toulepleu region. H: 32 cm / W: 28 cm / D: 17 cm. 2.5 kg.