Two miniature masks "ma go"

Description

wood, brown patina, a) Dan, Côte d’Ivoire; b) Toma, Liberia, encrusted patina; both min. dam., slight traces of abrasion;
miniature masks were personal belongings, they were kept carefully hidden in a pocket or in a kind of cloth or raffia case, like private objects endowed with the power to protect the owner. Their essential function may be compared with that of certain sacred images or talismans. The masks were “nourished” with chicken blood, palm oil and the remains of food, which in time form encrustations or a patina on its surface.