Deguelé Mask
Senufo · Côte d’Ivoire
Reference: MFG-88
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- Material
- Wood, rope and pigments
It is a mask of the Senufo group called “Kiembara” of the Korhogo region. It is a female mask, although there are also male masks. Like…
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Full original description
It is a mask of the Senufo group called “Kiembara” of the Korhogo region. It is a female mask, although there are also male masks. Like other categories of masks, they manifest in pairs. Long ring neck and pronounced breasts under an elongated face. The male mask wears a carcaj on the back. This mask is covered by the great dignitaries in whose funerals appear to accompany their souls to the hereafter.It belongs to the higher grades of the “Lô”. They also make their appearance in ceremonies intended to represent the mythical concepts of their cosmology.
They are objects of art; they are an intermediate figure between the mask and the statue. A kind of statue without arms. The body is ringed, like forming a long neck; is mounted on a kind of helmet or capirote in which slits have been arranged to facilitate vision. It is made from a single piece of wood whose interior has been hollowed out.
The power of the mask lies in the number of overlapping rings that compose the trunk or neck of the statue. Each of the rings has a precise volume of supernatural energy acquired during initiation into the society of the Pore.
Further technical information
- Attributed period
- First third of the century XX
Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.
Country on the map
Côte d’Ivoire. 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.
