Mask "nwenka" · Burkina Faso, Bobo · ID: 3047389
sold
EUR 1,500
Provenance
Old British Collection (coll. in the 1960s / 70s)Size
H: 92 cm
H: 36.2 inch
Description
wood, colour pigments, water stains
“Nwenka” embodies the spirit of “dwo”, the son of the creator god “wuro”. Viewed as one of the most sacred of all Bobo masks (second only to the “molo” mask), “nwenka” is used exclusively by blacksmiths in cults centred around “dwo’s” spirit (the “kwele dwo”, “dwosa”, and “sibe dwo” cults).
Comparing literature
Roy, Christopher, Art of the Upper Volta Rivers, Paris 1987, p. 328 ff.