Mask "kanaga" ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3033171

Description

light wood, polychrome paint, of narrow form with a highly abstract face, crowned by a superstructure in the form of a double cross, pierced around the rim, min. dam., minor missing parts, slight 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 3033171 was last part of the auction 70th tribal art auction at September 8, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 216 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,300.

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.