Mask Yatenten Karan Wemba
Mossi · Burkina Faso
Reference: MFG-27
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- Height
- 135 cm
- Material
- Wood and pigments.
The Yatenga masks are iron masks, which carry a female statue carved in one piece and are called "karan wemba". They come from the ancient kingdom…
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Full original description
The Yatenga masks are iron masks, which carry a female statue carved in one piece and are called "karan wemba". They come from the ancient kingdom state of Yatenga, which, like the other voltaic kingdoms of Ouagadougou, Gurma and Mampressi, recognized the political and moral sovereignty of Moro Naba.
These figures represent the feminine spirit of the fertility of the earth, which is fertilized by the male reproductive represented by the horns of the antelope that sustain the figures. This female figure is a tribute to the elderly woman who by wisdom and experience is elevated to the rank of ancestor and represented with a young body to show the fullness of the woman. This mask is the intermediary between the living and the spirits of the ancestors of the family. He appears at the funerals of women to be favorable to them on their way to the hereafter.
White and dark brown polychrome with patina of time.
Further technical information
- Attributed period
- Mid-century XX or earlier.
- Recorded weight
- 3 g
Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.
Country on the map
Burkina Faso. 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.
