Senufo Wanyugo Helmet Mask
Ivory Coast
A helmet mask constructed on a horizontal axis, the form columnar in volume and radial in organisation, with opposing zoomorphic heads projecting laterally from a central core.
Description
Carved from a single wood block, the central volume is columnar and hollowed to receive the wearer’s head, with an oval projecting element positioned on the primary axis. From either side, elongated zoomorphic heads extend outward, each defined by an open jaw with repeated triangular teeth forming a continuous serrated edge. The lateral projections are near-symmetrical in extension. The opposing lateral heads are identified as warthogs. Above, two elongated zoomorphic figures, compact in mass, are integrated into the upper register, seated in weight-bearing contact with the central core and linked by a cylindrical receptacle, their mass continuous with the structure of the mask. The paired figures are identified as chameleons.
Surface is compact and stable. Natural pigment is retained across the lateral heads, central body and upper register, with exposure at projecting elements.
Context
Among the Senufo, Wanyugo helmet masks are employed within Poro society performances associated with funerary ceremonies and the regulation and protection of the community.
Provenance
From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Ivory Coast, 1971.
Details
- Title
- Senufo Wanyugo Helmet Mask
- Culture
- Senufo
- Origin
- Ivory Coast
- Date
- 20th century
- Dimensions
- H 40 cm (15.7 in) · W 73 cm (28.7 in) · D 23 cm (9.1 in)
- Medium
- Wood with natural pigment
- Provenance
- From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Ivory Coast, 1971.
