Mask "nwenka" · Burkina Faso, Bobo · ID: 3050451
Starting price
EUR 300
Estimated price
EUR 500
Provenance
Gernan Private Collection, MunichSize
H: 106 cm
H: 41.7 inch
Description
wood, pigments, cord, remains of mass, collection no. “M 062”
“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.