Banda-Kumbaruba mask
Nalu · Guinea-Bissau
Reference: MFG-25
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- Height
- 75 cm
- Material
- Wood and pigments.
It is an improperly attributed mask to the Baga that can reach more than a meter and a half. It features a human face with jaws…
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Full original description
It is an improperly attributed mask to the Baga that can reach more than a meter and a half. It features a human face with jaws representing the crocodile, with antelope horns, hyena ears, a snake and chameleon tail. This mask is carried horizontally over the head.Policromía with geometric drawings and human eyes that, like the shape of the head, confer an anthropozoomorphic aspect. He now appears on playful festivities and traditionally appeared at the end of male initiation ceremonies and never in funeral ceremonies. It was a dreaded mask, for it presents man as a center of two great forces, water and forest but at the same time, given its power, it was a protective mask. Rice growers used it to get rid of snake bites. As the Nalu have been embracing Islam this mask has asked for its ritual strength and has been relegated to simple playful or decorative object.
Further technical information
- Attributed period
- Mid-century XX
- Recorded weight
- 2 g
Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.
Country on the map
Guinea-Bissau. The country associated with the catalog is shown, not the current location of the piece.
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Attributions, dates and accounts come from the preserved catalogue. They do not constitute certification of authenticity or provenance. An object’s presence on this website does not mean it is available for sale.
