Mask "kanaga" ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3035196

Description

light wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, superstructure in form of a double cross, pierced around the rim, min. dam., small missing parts, cracks, 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 3035196 was last part of the auction 74th tribal art auction at September 7, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 122 achieved a sales price of EUR 400.

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.