African Tribal - 3562 Wee Anyi \'Gela\' War Mask (Agni, Dan, Guere, Guerre)
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African Tribal - 3562 Wee Anyi \'Gela\' War Mask (Agni, Dan, Guere, Guerre):
$434.54
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<img African Tribal - 3562 Wee Anyi \'Gela\' War Mask (Agni, Dan, Guere, Guerre) Description
It has been over 6 months since Fine Tribal Gallery (Michaela3254)
set off to dig 2 wells and build 2 schools in Cote D\'Ivoire & Ghana.
It is good to be back home & we have lots to list on !!!
Please also note, all our masks and figures have been \'treated\' by
African customs fumigation teams & we have permission from relevant Museums to export all our pieces.
WELCOME TO \'THE AFRICAN TRIBAL COLLECTION\' (The site for Fine Tribal Gallery)
Mostly museum quality tribally used art
\'Genuine\' tribally used Anyi (Agni) Gela War Mask
Item Number: 3562
Country of origin: Cote D\'Ivoire
Ethnic group: Anyi (Agni)
Approximate age: Mid 20th Century
Provenance assured: Yes
Tribally used: Yes - with \'biting\' stick present
Materials: Wood, animal horns, tribal offerings, cloth
Measurements (cm): Height 35 Width 37 Depth 30 4kg
Condition: Weathered, horn deterioration
This was field collected by our team from an Anyi village in Cote D\'ivoire.
Some pictures used are of Anyi girls performing during an Okodjo dance festival in Cote D\'Ivoire. (Fortaillier).
ANYI
The We / Wee / Guere / Anyi people live south and south-East of the more famous Dan people in Cote d\'Ivoire / Ivory Coast. They share many aspects of culture with the neighbouring Dan. They created masks that were used during festivities, funerals, rituals, wars, and that look rather scary and monstrous.
Among the Wee (or Wè) of Liberia and the Ivory Coast, individuals sponsor festivals that take place annually during the dry season, which lasts from November to February.
These festivals feature dancing and performances focused on the figure of the gela. The term gela refers to the animated being comprised of face mask, costume, and the wearer beneath. Gela masks are given a variety of identities that, rather than describing their physical appearance, are linked to the powers associated with the mask persona. The identity of a single mask might change over time. This gela mask is known as “The Ancient One,” suggesting that it was passed down over several generations.
As is true with many African mask forms, gela masks consist of distorted features that blend animal and human elements. In the case of “The Ancient One,” features are taken to an extreme. The mask seems to erupt in horns, tusks, and teeth. A straggly beard frames the jaw and tufts of hair sprout from each side of the beastly face. Gela can use their power and strength for both destructive and beneficial ends. Older gela, for instance, are thought to be able to cause thunder and foul weather. Any gela, on the other hand, can be called upon to reconcile problems within a community. The feral aspect of the gela acts as a counterexample to humans, who are, by contrast, encouraged to embrace order and civilization. It is believed the gela can gather up the ill will and negative feelings plaguing a community and deposit them back into the forest, where the untamed forces of nature prevail.
The forest plays a central role in the lives of the Wee, whose villages are surrounded by the bush. The Wee are known as healers for their skilled used of forest plants with medicinal value. These same plants provide leaves that are pounded, mixed with water, and applied to the gela mask in a ritual of activation. The mask is, thus, invested with the spiritual power and vital energy of the forest.
About Us
MASKSSTANDS AVAILABLE BUT NOTINCLUDEDINSALEUNLESSSTATED
WE ONLY BUY TRIBALARTPIECESFROM VILLAGES- LOCAL REPAIRS
Many pieces even in some villages have been made to be sold one day, but with experience you can weed out the obvious pieces and find the gems..We have found that ahuge amount of \'established\' sellers and big tribal galleries have never even been to Africa! They rely on so called \'antiques\' dealers in Africa, or mostly buy pieces from smaller local sales in Europe, flea marketsandthe like, and just reference such pieces to old magazines and books for prices& styles. Wehave pieces appraised by, and regularly go to many of the big sales in Paris, at Sotheby\'s, Christie\'s, Bonham\'setc, and visit friends at the well establishedTribalArt galleries there. We have spent many years studying TribalArt styles and visiting exhibitions and museums in Europe.The \'style\' and \'movement\' of pieces is important to us, as is supplying quality art at \'sensible\' prices. We sell to established collectors, and even other sellers in Europe and the USA to help fund our aid projects in West Africa.\'Provenance\' is all fine and well, and although we do have established collectors offering us pieces to sell for our projects, there are stillmany gems to be found hidden away in Africa. The same piece we and others may offer for £500 may be £5000 or £50000 in Paris or New York, because \'X\' documented it in the 1940\'s!!TribalArt is a growingarea& big sale house prices are soaring as seen recently.\'Fine Tribal Gallery\' is not a charity. We are passionate about Africa andtribal Art andweare doingwhat we canto support various villages inGhana,Cote D\'Ivoire, Mali, Liberiaandelsewhere in West Africa. We are currently working with several aid agencies locally, including the \'SOS Childrens villages\', Water Aid and with severalNGO\'s as well as many local Chiefs. We generate the fundsthey need from the sale of Tribal Art.We arein Africa several times a year hunting for new treasures and \'untapped\'sources, sometimes deep in theremote villages - our passion is for rare tribally used artifacts with excellent \'style\'and \'patina\', not merely antiques.Our sources forthetribal pieces wehave for sale, stretch out across Africafrom Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D\'Ivoire, Mali,etcdown as far as the Congo...We have awarehouse and shipping outlet situated on the beachfront in Accra, Ghana, where we initially store allthe \'finds\' from our hunting trips around the countries. We then check all the pieces ourselves, when they arrive in the UK -before we send to ourworld-widecustomers.
Africa is rife with \'copies\' andso we do not rely heavily on external sources to supply ourpieces (asmany sellersdo!)as wewould then not be able toreliablyassure our buyers of the \'provenance\' and \'authenticity\' of our items. Wechoose all the pieces ourselves, anddo our best to verify the \'age\' and\'use\' of pieces we find, and we regularly testpieces to verifyauthenticity.
We have local experts in WestAfrica who help us to assess pieces we find, regarding age and authenticity,utilising their knowledge of the woodusedand the carving styles ofthe relevant tribes. Weregularly send many tribalpiecesfor\'spectroscopy\' age dating tests, at the Museum of Arts andScience in Milan. This can not only date the wood accurately, but can alsoascertain if the piece was recently carved from an old piece of wood!
We don\'t just believe everything we are told by villagers and chiefs...
BIGPOSTAGEDISCOUNTS -IFYOUBUYMORETHAN1 ITEMWe do not charge for packing, and always try toestimate the minimum postage, but we send pieces \'recorded delivery\' which usually means a signature is required by the buyerWe reserve the right to relist items not paid for within 7 days.Additional return policy details: RETURNS ACCEPTED WITH\'FULLREFUND\'WITHIN30DAYS OF DISPATCHIF YOU ARENOT HAPPY WITH THE PRODUCT FOR ANY REASON!
- WE WANT ONLYSATISFIED CUSTOMERS!
- Item must be returned in the condition and packaging as it was sent.
African Tribal - 3562 Wee Anyi \'Gela\' War Mask (Agni, Dan, Guere, Guerre):
$434.54