Nigeria

Wood and pigment
43 cm

Provenance:
Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels (1996)
Hélène & Philippe Leloup, Paris
Udo & Wally Horstmann Collection, Zug, Switzerland (1996)
Sotheby's, New York, African and Oceanic Art, 19 November 1999, lot 102
Private collection, Belgium

Published:
X, Das Tier in der Kunst / The Animal in Art, Zug, The Huberte Goote Gallery, 1995, n.p.
Masque du Monde / African Masks. A Book of Postcards, San Francisco, The Brooklyn Museum, 1997, p.16

Exhibited:
Zug, The Huberte Goote Gallery, Das Tier in der Kunst / The Animal in Art, 2 December 1995 - 31 March 1996

This Kantana mask, formerly in the Hélène & Philippe Leloup collection, is an early and rare example showing clear evidence of ritual use, in contrast to the many later examples produced in response to Western market demand. The surface bears a nuanced patina consistent with repeated handling.
Its stark abstraction of a buffalo’s head - reduced to essential geometric volumes - aligns indeed closely with sculptural qualities appreciated in Western modernist contexts.
In the mask presented here, a subtle central ridge marks the junction of the horns. It continues across the lower plane representing the muzzle, introducing a measured elegance that offsets an otherwise rigorous formal economy.