Fine, Senufo Carved Wooden Dance Mask (Kpelie) with Metal Ornaments

This very finely-carved mask (kpelie) is from the group of peoples that have become known as the Senufo. It dates to the 1920s and has a patina consistent with such a dating. It would have been used in masquerade dance rituals.

It has been carved from a single piece of wood. It is of oval form. It has a pursed, projecting mouth displaying gritted teeth. A long, slender nose leads to double, arched eyebrows and heavy lids around pierced eye slits. There is a band of fine scarification marks on the cheeks, and radiating from the mouth.

The whole is framed by various projections, horns, whiskers and flanges, including from the crest of the head.

Four twisted iron rings are suspended symmetrically from the projections.

The rim has been drilled all the way around with holes to allow the mask to be attached to textile or raffia so that the whole could be worn over the head.

Related examples are illustrated in Robbins & Nooter (1989, p. 114) and Gagliardi (2015, p, 98).

The mask is in excellent condition. One of the lower pendant protuberances appears to have a crack but this is stable and only discernible on close inspection. Overall, this is a fine, well-carved example with tremendous presence.

The mask has a fine patina, aged wood, traces of black pigment, and smoothness associated with wear. There is light encrustation under a magnifying loop. The iron rings similarly have much age and oxidation. The mask does have small white house paint splashes – quite often wooden tribal items from old European collections have this feature caused by the artworks being in cluttered houses and flats with small rooms and having been inadequately covered up when the rooms were being re-painted! Possibly the lower right ‘whisker’ has an old repair but it is barely discernible and probably as old as the mask itself.

This mask is accompanied by a custom-made wooden display stand.