Mask "kanaga" ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3032220

Description

light brown wood, matt patina, of narrow form with a highly abstract face, showing a sharp edged protruding forehead and nose, superstructure in form of a double cross missing, min. dam., cracks, traces of abrasion;
the “kanaga” mask can be interpreted in different ways: crocodile, creator genius, but also “bird in flight”. According to the latter interpretation it represents the bird “kommolo tebu” with spread wings and black and white plumage, when after its shooting the hunter carved the first “kanaga”.

The object Mask “kanaga” with the object ID 3032220 was last part of the auction 68th tribal art auction at March 3, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 154 achieved a sales price of EUR 570.

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.