Mask "waka kakada" ·  Mali, Dogon · ID: 3035737

Description

wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, elongated form with open snout and high forehead-nose ridge, probably depicting a crocodile, pierced around the rim, min.dam., cracks, traces of abrasion, base;
the crocodile was feared as a man eating monster and was killed therefore. Lateron masks were made after his image, in order to banish even its spirit “nyama” from the world of the living.

Comparing literature

Rubin, Arnold et. al., The Sculptor's Eye, The African Art Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Chaim Gross, Washington D.C. 1976, p. 11, ill. 2 Bilot, Alain, Masques du pays Dogon, Paris 2001, p. 132 f., ill. 63