York's Shona Gallery presents "Mask" by the Mossi tribe of Burkina Faso. It depicts an oval face with diamond-shaped eyes. It sits at the base of a tall, narrow plank carved in checkered and zigzag patterns and topped with two stacked triangles.
The mask is hand carved from wood and was made 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.
It is lightweight and can be mounted on the wall or displayed on the custom mask stand included with your purchase.
