Antelope headdress "wan-nyaka" · Burkina Faso, Mossi · ID: 3048170
sold
EUR 1,700
Provenance
Old British Collection (coll. in the 1960s / 70s)Size
L: 58 cm
L: 22.8 inch
Description
wood, paint and pigment residues, rest.
In spite of its long birdlike snout, this mask represents an antelope (“nyaka”).
Mossi families tell of an ancestor who wandered through the wilderness looking for new land to farm. He became lost and lay down in the shade of a tree to rest. He was awakened by an antelope, which led him to a spring where he could drink. When he returned to his village the magic priest advised him to carve a mask in honor of this supernatural creature.
Comparing literature
Roy, Christopher D., Mossi, Milan 2015, Pl. 31