York's Shona Gallery presents "Mask" by the Mossi tribe of Burkina Faso. A long, narrow face rises into two tall, parallel horns, and the whole mask is incised with fine white patterns against dark brown wood. It was hand carved from wood in 1957.
The Mossi use masks at burials, funerals, and initiations, and at annual year-end ancestral sacrifices. They represent spirits from the wild bush areas surrounding the village, which may appear to humans as animals. When masks are not being worn in performances, they are placed on ancestral shrines in the kimse roogo, or ancestral spirit house of the family that owns them. The spirits protect the family from disease, accident, natural disaster, drought, infertility, and generally ensure success in their life.
The mask is lightweight and can be mounted on the wall or displayed on the custom mask stand included with your purchase.
