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Lot Essay
A MASK OF EXCEPTIONAL EXPRESSION AND INNOVATION
By Bruno Claessens
This mask was publicly displayed for the first time at the now famous Guere-Wobe-Bete exhibition in Paris at Galerie Hélène Kamer (now Leloup) in 1978. It was part of a select ensemble displaying the rich variety of masks of this region and acquired not long after by its current owners. The American painter and sculptor Nancy Graves later selected this mask for Susan Vogel’s acclaimed exhibition Perspectives: Angles on African Art at New York’s Center for African Art in 1987 – being the only female member of the group of connoisseurs assembled for this book’s selection committee. For Graves “in African sculpture there is a sophisticated simplicity in the unexpected scale and the placement of forms”; she continues, “I’m constantly surprised and delighted with their artists’ intelligence, imagination, and invention in coming up with visual solutions. The art is here for us to appreciate intuitively. One may get more information about it which enhances it, but its strength is there for anyone to see” (op. cit., p. 99). About this mask she commented, “This mask is a vertical ellipse in profile, divided into four, more or less equal parts, made of horizontals and convex hemispheres. I admire the distances of the spaces and the detail of the carving” (op. cit., p. 102). The relationships between the different parts of this mask indeed define the whole. The artist of this mask emphasized the nose by increasing its size, thereby creating a dynamic interplay between the different facial elements. The eyes, topped by incised eyebrows, mirror the shape of the nostrils, while in their turn being counterbalanced by the lower lip – which forms the lower extremity of the face. This genius interplay between curves and volumes, locked within the classical oval mask-shape ordered by tradition, creates a unique expressive interpretation of the human face which continues to astound.
The Wè people, who live south and southeast of the Dan in Ivory Coast, share many cultural similarities with the latter. However, a substantial difference can be found in the design of their masks. While the Dan in general create idealized representations of the human face, the Wè opted for more expressive interpretations- the imposing mouth of our mask being a prime example of such stylistic exaggerations. The field-research of the Belgian scholar Pieter-Jan Vandenhoute in the Dan-Wè region in 1939 showed that some Dan sculptors would consciously integrate formal elements derived from Wè masks in their constant quest for innovation, thereby blurring the clear lines between the masks of the Dan and Wè. Vandenhoute’s findings have shown that sculptors knew and analyzed each other’s creations. People would travel from afar to commission a new mask from a famous carver, so it was crucial to maintain one’s reputation. This resulted in a constant competition among mask carvers to come up with new, creative inventions that would stun the public. Innovation was highly stimulated. Moreover, not only the earthly spectators would be positively influenced by a masks’ spectacular composition, but also the ancestors would act benignly if a masks’ appearance pleased them.
Accompanied by musicians during its performance, this mask would move around dynamically when it appeared. It may have walked solemnly, ran or danced; maybe it even performed acrobatic feats. Mask often spoke, sung or made strange unearthly sounds reflecting their supernatural origin. This wooden mask of course was the centerpiece of an elaborate costume. A fiber headdress once was attached to the many holes at its rim. Covering the body of its wearer, the shape and materials of which it was made, would comply with the specific character the mask incarnated. The surface’s deep patina, as well as the extensive erosion to the holes, indicates this mask had a long ritual life. The holes on top of the upper lip once held a fiber beard, which would have enhanced the spectacular character of this one-of-a- kind mask. Though the appearance of such a mask would often not change substantially throughout the years, its reputation often evolved through age, as it served a purpose during several generations. Even after its arrival in Europe, far from the original context it once operated in, the reputation of this superb mask has only grown.
By Bruno Claessens
This mask was publicly displayed for the first time at the now famous Guere-Wobe-Bete exhibition in Paris at Galerie Hélène Kamer (now Leloup) in 1978. It was part of a select ensemble displaying the rich variety of masks of this region and acquired not long after by its current owners. The American painter and sculptor Nancy Graves later selected this mask for Susan Vogel’s acclaimed exhibition Perspectives: Angles on African Art at New York’s Center for African Art in 1987 – being the only female member of the group of connoisseurs assembled for this book’s selection committee. For Graves “in African sculpture there is a sophisticated simplicity in the unexpected scale and the placement of forms”; she continues, “I’m constantly surprised and delighted with their artists’ intelligence, imagination, and invention in coming up with visual solutions. The art is here for us to appreciate intuitively. One may get more information about it which enhances it, but its strength is there for anyone to see” (op. cit., p. 99). About this mask she commented, “This mask is a vertical ellipse in profile, divided into four, more or less equal parts, made of horizontals and convex hemispheres. I admire the distances of the spaces and the detail of the carving” (op. cit., p. 102). The relationships between the different parts of this mask indeed define the whole. The artist of this mask emphasized the nose by increasing its size, thereby creating a dynamic interplay between the different facial elements. The eyes, topped by incised eyebrows, mirror the shape of the nostrils, while in their turn being counterbalanced by the lower lip – which forms the lower extremity of the face. This genius interplay between curves and volumes, locked within the classical oval mask-shape ordered by tradition, creates a unique expressive interpretation of the human face which continues to astound.
The Wè people, who live south and southeast of the Dan in Ivory Coast, share many cultural similarities with the latter. However, a substantial difference can be found in the design of their masks. While the Dan in general create idealized representations of the human face, the Wè opted for more expressive interpretations- the imposing mouth of our mask being a prime example of such stylistic exaggerations. The field-research of the Belgian scholar Pieter-Jan Vandenhoute in the Dan-Wè region in 1939 showed that some Dan sculptors would consciously integrate formal elements derived from Wè masks in their constant quest for innovation, thereby blurring the clear lines between the masks of the Dan and Wè. Vandenhoute’s findings have shown that sculptors knew and analyzed each other’s creations. People would travel from afar to commission a new mask from a famous carver, so it was crucial to maintain one’s reputation. This resulted in a constant competition among mask carvers to come up with new, creative inventions that would stun the public. Innovation was highly stimulated. Moreover, not only the earthly spectators would be positively influenced by a masks’ spectacular composition, but also the ancestors would act benignly if a masks’ appearance pleased them.
Accompanied by musicians during its performance, this mask would move around dynamically when it appeared. It may have walked solemnly, ran or danced; maybe it even performed acrobatic feats. Mask often spoke, sung or made strange unearthly sounds reflecting their supernatural origin. This wooden mask of course was the centerpiece of an elaborate costume. A fiber headdress once was attached to the many holes at its rim. Covering the body of its wearer, the shape and materials of which it was made, would comply with the specific character the mask incarnated. The surface’s deep patina, as well as the extensive erosion to the holes, indicates this mask had a long ritual life. The holes on top of the upper lip once held a fiber beard, which would have enhanced the spectacular character of this one-of-a- kind mask. Though the appearance of such a mask would often not change substantially throughout the years, its reputation often evolved through age, as it served a purpose during several generations. Even after its arrival in Europe, far from the original context it once operated in, the reputation of this superb mask has only grown.