Rare Gwere mask from the Ivory Coast.
The Gwere are related to the Dan in Liberia and are known as healers due to their knowledge of plants.
They were the inventors of the Terror Mask, whose function was to establish contact with tutelary entities through the intermediary of dead ancestors.
During certain ceremonies the monstrous mask would clown and elicit laughter, but that did not make them any less feared or respected.
