Female bush spirit mask "taba" or antelope mask "kou" ·  Burkina Faso, Dafing-Marka · ID: 3035886

Description

wood, painted in black and red, kaolin, the face built of geometrical forms, coated with flat deepened linear patterns accentuated by changing colours, crowned by massive bow-shaped horns, connected by a carved reptile, rep. (reptile), fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion, base;
such masks are used at funeral ceremonies for honouring the deceased and permitting his spirit to begin the long journey to the spirit world.

Littérature comparée

Roy, Christopher D., Land of the flying masks, München 2007, ill. 156