Zoomorphic mask - Wood - Bedu - Nafana - Côte d'Ivoire

Large zoomorphic Bedu mask Nafana Culture, North East of Ivory Coast First half of the 20th century Wood and pigments Height: 190 cm - Width: 55 cm Important wooden blade mask showing a stylized antelope entirely pigmented with black, brown and white. A large pair of horns form the blade of the mask and join on the upper part in a ring. The face is flat, carved in a diamond shape, symmetrically treated in two lateral haloes of light pigments and pierced with two holes for the eyes. A horizontal median leads to the ears, just before the large rectangular and vertical section of the blade. This set is pigmented with black and white arranged in checkerboard. It is said that these masks were danced in pairs, one female and one male, on the occasion of funerary and agrarian celebrations and had a role of healer and protector of the crops. Male masks, as in this case, were carved with a pair of horns merged into a ring at the end of the blade. The female masks were carved with more details. Caution: this piece is very heavy for shipping. Pick-up possible in Saint-Ouen.