Helmet mask "degele" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Sénoufo · ID: 3039619

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.