Fire spitter mask "wanjugo" · Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3032628
Christie’s London, “The Late Josef Mueller Collection. Part II”, 20 March 1979, lot 40
Richard Rüegg, Zurich, Switzerland
Description
wood, dark brown patina, encrusted in some areas, painted with dots in white and red pigment, to evoke terror the Senufo mixed parts of the anatomy of various species (crocodile jaw, wart hog fangs, mighty buffalo horns), slightly dam., cracks, rep. (one horn), paint rubbed off;
the mask type “wanjugo” belongs to the “wabele” society. The masks are greatly feared and have a powerful magic potential. Usually they have a small circular receptacle on the top of the cranium, filled with magic substances. Sometimes they are called “firespitter” masks. In former times their open mouth used to be filled with blaze, which the dancers blew to showers of sparks.
The object Fire spitter mask “wanjugo” with the object ID 3032628 was part of the auction 69th tribal art auction on June 2, 2012. The object with the lot number 187 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,600 with an asking price of EUR 3,500.
You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Comparing literature
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, ill. 12, ill. 52