Ritual figure with helmet mask "wanjugo" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Senufo · ID: 3045630

Description

wood, base

Such masked figures were sometimes used for instructional purposes. It may also have had a protective function for the mask wearer and was kept in his home to hold the spirit of the large mask when it was in use.

The mask type “wanjugo” belongs to the “wabele” society which is responsible for tracking down and destroying witches and harmful spirits.

The object Ritual figure with helmet mask “wanjugo” with the object ID 3045630 was part of the auction 92nd Tribal Art Auction on June 29, 2019. The object with the lot number 59 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,200 with an asking price of EUR 2,000.

You can find more Masks, Figures and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.

Comparing literature

Publications

Holas, Bohumil, Sculpture Senoufo, Abidjan 1969, planche 50; Holas, Bohumil, Cultures Matérielles de la Côte d`Ivoire, Paris 1960, planche 40 a