Zoomorphic mask "sukun" ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3035938

Description

wood, brown patina, oval form with protruding forehead and pointed chin, tusk-like appendage underneath the nose, rep. (breakage at the righ backside), small missing parts (back), slight traces of abrasion, base;
this mask may represent a stylized horse. However, its structural components can also be interpreted as a synthesis of several animals. It features an interesting device running from the bottom of the nose to the bottom of the face. The exact use or meaning of this enigmatic structure is unknown.

Littérature comparée

Bourgeois, Arthur & Scott Rodolitz, Remnants of Ritual, New York 2003, p. 2, ill. 5