Female bush spirit mask "taba" or antelope mask "kou" · Burkina Faso, Dafing-Marka · ID: 3035886
Description
wood, painted in black and red, kaolin, the face built of geometrical forms, coated with flat deepened linear patterns accentuated by changing colours, crowned by massive bow-shaped horns, connected by a carved reptile, rep. (reptile), fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion, base;
such masks are used at funeral ceremonies for honouring the deceased and permitting his spirit to begin the long journey to the spirit world.
The object Female bush spirit mask “taba” or antelope mask “kou” with the object ID 3035886 was last part of the auction 75th tribal art auction at November 30, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 251 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,300.
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Comparing literature
Roy, Christopher D., Land of the flying masks, München 2007, ill. 156