Tribal Art

African zoomorphic mask, worn on the head. This mask refers to the antelope. Polychrome decorative motifs.
Matte patina, abrasions and desication cracks.
The African art sculptures of the Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently take up and combine stylized elements borrowed from men, animals or even insects. It is the spirits of nature who are believed to determine an individual's well-being and prosperity, and adversity will be seen as the result of neglect of collective rituals. It is therefore during different celebrations that the mask will personify a spirit of nature or that of an ancestor in order to influence the daily lives of members of the ethnic group. They appear to honor the deceased during funeral rites, and to escort souls to the realm of the dead. They also occur during agricultural festivals with the aim of ensuring the progression of the seasons, even during initiation rites they will introduce young people to the responsibilities of adult life. Masks are the object of family pride, and therefore a means of enhancing one's prosperity and influence within the group. It is in a spirit of competition that everyone will seek to highlight the dance performances of their mask, and to highlight the ornamental patterns of their surface.