Zemanek-Münster

Bird- or butterfly mask

Burkina Faso, Bwa
sold EUR 2,600
Provenance
Harald & Ursula Suhr, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada / Germany (1983, acquired from “Sibiri”, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)
Size
H: 37 cm
B: 132 cm
H: 14.6 inch
B: 52.0 inch

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

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