Guere mask Guere people, Liberia or Ivory Coast 12.5 inches, painted wood, fiber brush These masks are sometimes referred to as war masks. Actually, they are worn primarily during funerals and in a detective capacity to single out guilty persons. This is according to Jean-Baptiste Bacquart in his book The Tribal Arts of Africa. The staring eyes, nose spike and all those nasty teeth are very scary, especially at this large size. Sometimes shells, bells, nails and other hardware are attached.
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