Huge 20th C. Baule Painted Wood Goli Mask - Kplekple

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Fine Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 2, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-12-02 10:00:00 2021-12-02 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-art-7918
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• Lot Description
  West Africa, Ivory Coast, Baule, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A remarkably massive wooden mask of discoid form capped by a tremendous pair of curved horns, each deeply incised with several parallel ridges up to their gray-painted tips. Enveloped in black paint with blue, red, and white features, the intimidating vizard presents teardrop-shaped eyes with projecting pupils, a rectangular mouth held open to expose a top row of tab-shaped teeth, and a pair of petite, petaloid ears. A pair of grooved, arched striations adorn the brow, while an elevate square of wood and dissipated earth is featured on the verso. Size: 26" W x 42" H (66 cm x 106.7 cm)
  
  Known as kplekple, this mask is part of a family of masks called Goli. Kplekple are considered the children of the family, with the black masks representing daughters named kplekple bla and the red representing sons named kplekple yaswa. Adopted in the late 19th and early 20th century from the neighboring Wan peoples, the Goli are considered intercessors with supernatural forces for good or sometimes, if not appeased, evil. They traditionally appear at times of great strife, such as during epidemics or at funerals. The kplekple mask is worn by a young man dressed in goatskin who performs a spirited dance to music at dawn as well as during the early afternoon and evening.
  
  Kplekple masks can range in height from less than 15 inches to more than 40, like this example. A mask of similar scale can be found at the Minneapolis Museum of Art under accession number 62.37. Another was sold by Sotheby's New York on May 16th, 2013 for $56,250 (lot 122, African/Oceanic, Sale Number: NO8994).
  
  Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #168210

  Condition

  Repair to proper left eye. Old repairs to both sides with break lines visible near edges. Some minor chips to peripheries. Expected nicks and abrasions, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive remaining pigments. Metal wire structure on verso allowing piece to be suspended for display.
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