A Toussian mask, Burkina Faso, collected in the region of Banfora, signs of ritual use, certificate of origin and provenance.

A small tribe in Southern Burkina Faso.This tribe is famous for their plank masks, called "Loinake" (or "Koniake"). These masks are worn by young men during initiation rituals, in full body costumes made of bark bast.

Lit.: 'Tradition und Veränderung der Gesellschaftsstruktur bei den Tussian, Burkina Fasi' by Franz Trost, in 'Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien', volume 129, 1999, p. 197-200, ill. p. 201; 'African Art in American Collections' von Robbins & Nooter, ill. 139. The cover of the catalogue ‘Primitivismus in der Kunst des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts’ by William Rubin, 1996, depicts a Tussian ‘Loniake’ mask from the Musée Barbier-Müller, Geneva, comparable to the bronze ‘Vogelkopf’ sculpture by Max Ernst, 1934/1935. 

Literature: 'Tradition und Veränderung der Gesellschaftsstruktur bei den Tussian, Burkina Fasi' by Franz Trost, in 'Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien', volume 129, 1999, p. 197-200, ill. p. 201; 'African Art in American Collections' von Robbins & Nooter, ill. 139 ('Loniake' with buffalo horns).

Additional photo: The cover of the catalogue of the most important exhibition, ‘Primitivismus in der Kunst des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts’ by William Rubin, 1996, depicts a Tussian ‘Loniake’ mask from the Musée Barbier-Müller, Geneva, comparable to the bronze ‘Vogelkopf’ sculpture by Max Ernst, 1934/1935.
Photo: Prestel Verlag.

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Height: 30 cm
Weight: 1 kg incl. stand