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.

The object Mask “waka kakada” with the object ID 3035737 was last part of the auction 75th tribal art auction at November 30, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 154 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,300.

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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