Mask "kpelie" ·  Côte d'Ivoire, Sénoufo · ID: 3035798

Description

wood, slightly encrusted brown patina, projection in shape of a kappok fruit on top, reduced side projections, pierced around the rim (partly broken), min. dam., small missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, base;
in literature this mask type is called “kpelie”, which comes from the Senufo word for “jumping”. A generic term in later research is “kodal”. The masks should drive away the spirit of the deceased from his homestead.