african hand-held face mask, african senufo people, circa mid to late 20th century

ITEM 1503 CONDITION
Item is in damaged condition with notable chipped wood in various places, the partial missing of the right leg, and the hole in the back of the top protrusion of the head due to age, handling, and usage.

ITEM 1503 DESCRIPTION
An African handheld face mask attributed to the African Senufo People of the Ivory Coast. The head has an elongated oval shape with a horn on each side of the forehead. There is a tall diamond-shaped protrusion on top of the head. There are curved ears, open slit eyes, a slender bridged nose, and a very large rectangular-shaped mouth with teeth. On each side of the face are large triangular-shaped protrusions; tribal scarification marks are on the brow and the face; the scarification marks are also seen on the side protrusions of the face. Below the mouth is an elongated triangle; a handle. The wood is unpainted light wood. The bottom of the horns has widely spaced relief lines. The protrusions on the sides of the face represent warthog fangs in an abstract style. Animals are common subjects in African masks. The Senufo People craft masks that celebrate the exceptional power of their societies by merging three different "danger" symbols: antelope horns, crocodile teeth, and warthog fangs. The protrusion on top of the head represents a feather of the hornbill bird. This handheld face mask is a Kponyungo mask; buffalo or antelope horns, warthog, crocodile, and birds; the horns could be buffalo, antelope, hyena, or ram horns. The handheld face mask is worn by the Senufo Poro society during funeral ceremonies of their deceased members to honor them as well as to ward off evil spirits. Circa mid to late 20th century. UK POSTAGE
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Antiques.co.uk Ref: KP3BGXQ2K

Maker/Artist:

Ivory Coast/Senufo People

Materials:

Light Wood

Width (cm):

23

Height (cm):

41

Depth (cm):

10

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