Mask "kanaga" ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3034792

Description

light wood, polychrome paint, crowned by a superstructure in the form of a double cross, bonnet made from plant fibres at the back, pierced around the rim, rep. (superstructure), cracks, small 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 3034792 was last part of the auction 78th tribal art auction at October 18, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 175 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,600.

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

Homberger, Lorenz (Hg.), Die Kunst der Dogon, Zürich 1995, p. 124