Fragment of a mask "kanaga" · Mali, Dogon · ID: 3033259
Vendu
350 €
Provenance
Harald & Ursula Suhr, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada / Germany (1981, acquired from Boubou Diarre in Mopti, Mali)Description
light brown wood, matt patina, black encrusted paint, of narrow form with a highly abstract face, superstructure in form of a double cross missing, missing parts through insect caused damage, cracks;
the “kanaga” mask can be interpreted in different ways: crocodile, creator genius, but also “bird in flight”. According to the latter interpretation it represents the bird “kommolo tebu” with spread wings and black and white plumage, when after its shooting the hunter carved the first “kanaga”.
Littérature comparée
Laude, Jean, African Art of the Dogon, New York 1973, ill. 91