**Originally Listed At $800**

Africa, Burkina Faso, Bobo culture, ca. early 20th century CE. A hand-carved tall, dark, wood mask with a large figural crest. The mask has an abstract, dramatic appearance, with sunken eyes, a huge, spiky series of horns for the nose, small ears, and a large crest topped by a standing figure. Along the bottom, the piece is repeatedly drilled through for attachment to fabric or other textiles. Size: 18" L x 7.3" W x 30" H (45.7 cm x 18.5 cm x 76.2 cm)

Bobo masks are intended to entertain, but they are believed to also possess a sacred character that is present in all masks. They are made by blacksmiths, who are considered in Bobo culture to have a mystical connection with mysterious unseen powers - smiths are believed to occupy a liminal state between the earthly and spiritual realms and therefore only they possess the knowledge and strength to carve wooden masks and regulate their magical forces. Mask imagery commonly uses large geometric shapes to combine stylized features of humans, animals, insects, and birds. Bobo people wear the masks with colorful cloths sewn onto them that cover the entire body; wearing them, they dance ritually at funerals to provide an escort for the deceased's soul into the world beyond.

Provenance: ex-Alan Davis collection, Santa Fe, NM, USA; collected in Bobodiolasso in 1971 by Marshall Mount, gifted to his son Christopher Mount.

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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#121398

Losses to wood at bottom and along crest.