Bird- or butterfly mask ·  Burkina Faso, Bwa · ID: 3033138

Description

wood, encrusted patina, polychrome paint, of broad, elongated form, concentrical eyes flanking a hook-shaped nose, an open worked circular mouth below, geometrical incisions, surmounted by three separatly carved figures (two birds, one animal head), min. dam., fissues, minor missing parts, traces of abrasion;
the bird masks and butterflies are the most abstract, consisting of a broad, horizontal plank, decorated with large concentric patterns. The mouth projects from the centre and there is a large hook representing the hawk’s beak or circles representing the patterns on the butterfly’s wings.
Without knowing the context it is not possible to distinguish which bird, a hawk or a vulture, is the inspiration for this mask.

Comparing literature

Roy, Christopher D., Land of the flying masks, München 2007, ill. 145