Helmet mask "degele"
Côte d'Ivoire, Sénoufo
Vendu
2 000 €
Provenance
Kevin Conru, London, Great BritainTaille
H: 40,5 cm
H: 15.9 inch
Description
heavy wood, brown patina, vaulted calotte, crowned by an anthropomorphic head, min. dam., cracks, small missing parts, traces of abrasion;
probably a variation of the mask type “degele”, which became first known in 1939. It only appears in pairs and comes out for the “great funeral” (“kuumo”), an all-community festival to commemorate important elders who have died over a four or five-year period.