A finely carved Bassa Gela mask

A finely carved Bassa Gela mask, from the region of Nzérékoré, Guinea, of oval hollowed form, with a projecting chin, an open protruding mouth with full lips beneath a large nose with prominent nostrils and with zigzag scarification marks, those scarifications also on the chin, the cheeks and the bulging forehead, closed heavy-lidded eyes beneath arching brows, pierced ears projecting outwardly from the face, a seven-parted striated coiffure with round ornaments at the ends, the mask is pierced through at the rim for attachment; blackened surface, traces of age and ritual use. Provenance Mohamed Belo Garba.

This type of mask is called "Gela", and it shows an imposing and complex headdress, a pointed chin in "galoche", reproductions of scarifications. The Gela are the embodiment of beauty. Smaller than a human face they are intended to be hung on a larger rattan structure that will marry the dancer's face. Usually made in a very hard wood, they are polished with the leaves of a tree similar to sandpaper, then dyed in black using dyeing vegetables.

700 - 900,- Euro

Height: 25 cm

Weight: 816 g (incl. stand)