Kpeliye mask - Senufo - Ivory Coast - SOLD
The refinement in African art of Senoufo
This mask was worn during the funeral of members of the association Poro which is a system of political and economic control forming initiation rites young people and made adults integrated into the life of the village.
It teaches the initiates the faculty to recognize the proper signs of their cultural identity.
In this piece we find the duality of Senufo thought, that of the ambiguity of the human being, man and woman, twins, body and spirit, life and death.
The Senufo consist of more than thirty entities with many local varieties of language and culture. Their geographical location is determined by population movements at the rate of history.
Note the presence of the chameleon, totemic animal, at the top of the mask with two faces.
This traditional Kpeliye mask has been acquired by a collector in our art gallery.
00493
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- 2nd half XXth
- Size
- 34 x 18 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
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The refinement in African art of Senoufo
This mask was worn during the funeral of members of the association Poro which is a system of political and economic control forming initiation rites young people and made adults integrated into the life of the village.
It teaches the initiates the faculty to recognize the proper signs of their cultural identity.
In this piece we find the duality of Senufo thought, that of the ambiguity of the human being, man and woman, twins, body and spirit, life and death.
The Senufo consist of more than thirty entities with many local varieties of language and culture. Their geographical location is determined by population movements at the rate of history.
Note the presence of the chameleon, totemic animal, at the top of the mask with two faces.
This traditional Kpeliye mask has been acquired by a collector in our art gallery.