Bassa Mask, Liberia

gela
height 9in (22.9cm)

Provenance
Marc and Joan Sherman Collection, New York
Marceau Rivière Collection, Paris
Galerie Olivier Castellano, Paris
New York Private Collection

Published
Roberts, Warren M. and Nancy Ingram Nooter, African Art in American Collections, Smithsonian Institution, 2004, fig. 325

The artist of this elegant gela mask has carved the profile in a visually pleasing S-curve. The prominent coiffure, with wide, rounded horizontal bands bordered at the front with a braided band, rises high above the broad forehead in an A-frame. Large coffee-bean eyes with bulbous lids mark the center of the mask which gradually narrows down to the chin. The rim along the facial plane is pierced with multiple holes, many worn through, for fiber attachment; black, shiny patina with encrustations and wear indicative of significant age and use.