We (Ngere) Mask, Gere Subgroup, Ivory Coast

Henri Kamer, Paris, by 1971
Pace Primitive, New York
Alain Bovis, Paris

Galerie Kamer, New York, Magic African Art, November 1971

Henri Kamer, Magic African Art, New York, 1971
William Rubin, "Primitivism" in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern, New York, 1984, p. 591
Marie-Noël Verger-Fèvre, "Masks of the We in Western Côte d'Ivoire", Tribal: The Magazine of Tribal Art, no. 37, Spring 2005, p. 111

Good condition for an object of this type and age. Minor vertical age cracks. Open age crack at proper left brow. 7 holes pierced through front of mask. Encrustation in recesses with some remains of seeds and vegetal material in holes and crevices. Nails around lower edge, with some remains of human hair. Bent pin in top of mask. Holes on reverse rim for attachment with chips and losses; the upper row of holes worn with a second row drilled further in, probably to replace the first when they became unusable. Fine aged wood patina with red and blue-green western paint.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present mask, illustrated alongside the essay on Dada and Surrealism on the occasion of William Rubin's 1984 monograph "Primitivism" in 20th Century Art: Affinities of the Tribal and the Modern, is a conceptual masterpiece of Guere art. In her recent study on We and Guere masks, Marie-Noël Verger-Fèvre (2005: 111) identifies it as either war (te'e gla) or wisdom (gla kla'a) mask. According to this study (loc. cit.: 107-108), the war mask "belongs to the category of great masks by virtue of its age and of its importance in the lineage to which it belongs. This mask once played a prominent role in We lineages because it intervened in matters of tribal warfare, which was widespread before the arrival of European colonials. [...] The great mask of wisdom, gla kla'a, appears in public on rare and solemn occasions. It is present at commemorative ceremonies and the funerary rites of important individuals and high Gla dignitaries. It also appears once every decade or so, apparently for the singular purpose of exhibiting it. Whenever it appears, the full procession of masks takes place before it."