GUERE MASKS, Liberia and Ivory Coast

Click on a name to see a larger image.

GUERE
Mask 319
21.5" high
$10,000

GUERE
Mask 325
13" high
$1200


GUERE
Mask 308
18" high
$1200

GUERE
Mask 324
32" high
$1000 

GUERE
Mask 315
15" high
$700

GUERE
Mask 316
11 - 19" high
$500

GUERE
Mask 321
15" high
$600 

 

GUERE
Mask 311
20" high
$400

GUERE
Mask 318
25" high
$1200

 

GUERE
Mask 323
23" high
$800

GUERE
Mask 317
12.5" high
SOLD

GUERE
Mask 361
12.5" high
$300 

GUERE
Mask 362
11.5" high
$200 

Photographs © Tim Hamill

GUERE MASKS, Liberia and Ivory Coast

Living in along the western edge of the Ivory Coast, the Guere and their neighbors the Wobe share numerous customs and beliefs. Although they are separate tribes, the two peoples are often referred to as the We, whose name means "men who easily forgive."

According to Jean-Baptiste Bacquart in his excellent book The Tribal Arts of Africa, We carvers focused on sculpting powerful face masks to which paraphernalia such as shells, bells, nails and feathers were added which were thought to reinforce the power of the masks.

The ferocious aspect of Guere masks - bulging eyes, open mouths and sometimes protruding horns - accounts for their identification as "war" masks but, according to Bacquart, they are worn primarily during funerals and - in a"detective" capacity - to single out guilty persons.

 

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