Early 20th C. African Mossi Painted Wood Karanga Mask
West Africa, Burkina Faso, northern Yatenga region, Mossi peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden Karanga mask of a tall form with a projecting top finial bearing red and white pigments as well as openwork ovoid motifs. The ovoid mask exhibits a slender nose with several horizontal incisions, a pair of egg-shaped eye holes, concentric vertical lines and a register of triangular motifs on the peripheries, a narrow wooden bite bar across the carved-out verso, and a pair of integral wooden antelope horns protruding from the smooth brow. The tall finial bears similar triangular motifs and decorative pigments that are mirrored on the reverse. The Mossi word for 'mask' is wango; however, the designation as a Karanga mask stems from the oval face, plank-form finial, and antelope horns. Size: 6.75" W x 70.5" H (17.1 cm x 179.1 cm)
A strikingly similar example of a Karanga mask hammered for EUR 1,880 ($2,027.81) at Christie's, Paris "Art Africain, Oceanien et Precolombien" auction (sale 5094, December 8, 2004, lot 121).
For another stylistically similar example, please see The Brooklyn Museum, accession number 1992.74.1
Provenance: ex-private old New England, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#154328
Condition Report: Area of repair to topmost corner of finial with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Abrasions and chips to plank, mask peripheries, and verso, with light fading to original pigmentation, softening to some finer details, and inactive insect damage. Nice patina and great traces of original pigment throughout.
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West Africa, Burkina Faso, northern Yatenga region, Mossi peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden Karanga mask of a tall form with a projecting top finial bearing red and white pigments as well as openwork ovoid motifs. The ovoid mask exhibits a slender nose with several horizontal incisions, a pair of egg-shaped eye holes, concentric vertical lines and a register of triangular motifs on the peripheries, a narrow wooden bite bar across the carved-out verso, and a pair of integral wooden antelope horns protruding from the smooth brow. The tall finial bears similar triangular motifs and decorative pigments that are mirrored on the reverse. The Mossi word for 'mask' is wango; however, the designation as a Karanga mask stems from the oval face, plank-form finial, and antelope horns. Size: 6.75" W x 70.5" H (17.1 cm x 179.1 cm)
A strikingly similar example of a Karanga mask hammered for EUR 1,880 ($2,027.81) at Christie's, Paris "Art Africain, Oceanien et Precolombien" auction (sale 5094, December 8, 2004, lot 121).
For another stylistically similar example, please see The Brooklyn Museum, accession number 1992.74.1
Provenance: ex-private old New England, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#154328
Condition Report: Area of repair to topmost corner of finial with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Abrasions and chips to plank, mask peripheries, and verso, with light fading to original pigmentation, softening to some finer details, and inactive insect damage. Nice patina and great traces of original pigment throughout.
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