A Gurunsi male mask, region Pô, village Pô, Burkina Faso, of hollowed oval form, a pendant beard, decorated with linear scarification at the chin, a broad open mouth baring teeth, a slender nose framed by oval rimmed eyes beneath arching brows, hemispherical ears with a triangle in the middle, attached to the mask face is a large plank carved in low relief with geometric motifs, a stacked inverted vertical hook running up to the centre, on the back an upward-pointed similar projection, surmounted by a seated female figure, at the rim pierced through for attachment; the entire mask is carved from a single piece of wood, decorated with black, white, and red pigment, traces of use and age, several cracks, incl. stand.

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.

sold

Height: 78 cm
Weight: 2 kg