A Gurunsi buffalo mask with superstructure, Nunuma, Burkina Faso, of hollowed oval form and large proportions, an elongated snout and open mouth beneath target-shaped eyes, a raised ridge running perpendicular between the eyes, a tall superstructure with a complex series of elements such as pierced diamond shaped plank and rectangular forms, three stacked inverted vertical hooks running up to the centre, attached to the superstructure is a finely executed female figure which crouches and holds the vessel behind her head, the vessel crowned the superstructure, the whole piece decorated with incised and low relief carved typical patterns such as concentric circles, checkerboards, zigzag lines and painted with red, white and black pigments in an effective and starkly contrasting manner, around the rim pierced through for attachment; the entire mask is carved from a single piece of wood, traces of use and age, several cracks, incl. stand.

Some informations about the pigments: "The pigments used to paint the masks are red, black, and white. These are among the commonest colors in African art. The red is ground iron oxide, found almost everywhere in Africa. The black is a thick tarry substance made by boiling the seed pods of the Acacia tree. The white is either chalk or the excrement of sun lizards, dug out of burrows by young boys. The paint is a blend of pigment and gum Arabic, sap exuded from Acacia trees and used widely in the West as a binder in art and painting. Black represents age, health, wisdom, and well being, white represents youth, inexperience, death, and illness, and red is the color of danger and the spirit world."

Lit.: Christopher D. Roy/Thomas G.B. Wheelock: Land of the Flying Masks. Art and Culture in Burkina Faso. The Thomas G. B. Wheelock Collection, München 2007, p. 42.

900 - 1.200,- Euro

sold

Height: 108 cm
Weight: 5,60 kg