Wood Mask
helmet with ears. Blue, red, and white painted geometric design. Bird figure on top.
- Object: Wood Mask
- Artist: -
- Circa: -
- Dimensions: 32.5"H x 8.5"W
- Culture Area: Burkina Faso; Africa
- Cultural Group: Mossi
- Cultural Context: Malo Mask, Bobo Tribe – Burkina Faso, Africa House Spirit Diety – DWO – Mossi (?) The Bobo, also of the Haute Volta, are the larger tribe with a rich culture. Their art is in the form of masks used mainly in agricultural rites, and paint used to an extent unusual in the Sudan; the colors are used are red, white, and black. This kind of mask is said to personify the village guardian spirit Do, and to have the function of keeping the forces of nature, and especially dangerous spirits, under control at times when the community is especially vulnerable, as at funerals and at the sowing of the crops. – Book Afrique by William Fagg, p. 45 The Mossi, the dominant tribe of the Haute Volta. Their main art form is a mas – highly abstract in form, with a tall geometrical superstructure, occasionally embellished with a human figure. - Book Afrique by William Fagg, p.46 Research and writeup by student employee Debora Vitaliano, 09_08_2022
- Donor: Barbara & Hiro Narita
- Catalog #: 114.198