Tribal Art

Baga Mask (N° 22311)

French African tribal art collection.
African mask attached to the naja snake here with dilated pupils. Sober polychrome lozenge motifs borrowing natural tones adorn its surface. Matte and velvety patina of use. erosions.
Serpentiform African initiatory mask used mainly by the Bulongic (village of Kifinda), Baga subgroup of the Guinean coast, its size can go up to 2.50 m. These masks were divided into two groups with the names Mosolo kombo and Sangaran, each with specific functions. Their conception took shape in an esoteric context, at night within the forest. Privileges of initiated men, embodying a spiritual entity, the Baga Sangaran masks only attended circumcision, every 24 years according to ethnologist Denise Paulme. During certain dances the mask was placed on the head, held in balance by a bamboo structure and by the arms of the wearer himself covered with a fabric and a loincloth of raffia. Among the Baga Koba, the mask was worn on the shoulder, without a costume. In other groups, the mask appeared in different contexts.