African Mask Mossi Bird Crest Burkina Faso Courting Mask

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African Mask Mossi Bird Crest Burkina Faso Courting Mask:
$892.50

This is Fabulous Old One of a Kind Mossi Long Bill Bird Mask with Braided Raffia is from Burkina Faso. All Burkina Faso masks are carved from the wood of the silk-cotton tree, and it is light and easy to carve. Most masks are carved from one piece of wood. The carver makes no sketches. He has the image in his mind and blocks out the large masses with his adze without benefit of mechanical means or guidelines of any kind. He then uses smaller and smaller adzes and knives until he has achieved the level of detail and kind of surface appropriate to the spirit in the mask. The image of the spirit comes from the collective imagination. While the people appreciate a degree of creativity, tradition dictates the way a mask must look in order to perform its spiritual function of the of the extended group to which the carver belongs. Most Burkina masks are polychrome, painted in red, white and black. The red is ground iron oxide. The black is a tarry substance, made from boiling the seed pods of the Acacia tree. The white is chalk or the excrement of sun lizards, dug out of burrows by young boys. The binder for the paint is gum Arabic, used widely throughout the world. The colors are symbolic. Black is age, health, wisdom, and well-being. White is youth, inexperience, death and illness. Red is danger and the spirit world. The `Ouangos\' are dancers whose costume is made up of a large robe fabricated of fibers covering the entire body, and surmounted by a wooden mask painted red and black, representing, most frequently, the head of an animal. The masks that are used by the Mossi are wooden, animal masks worn over the face or as crests on top of the head, or slanting on the forehead. They are decorated with geometric patterns burned into the wood and painted. The masks of the `Ouangos\' are constructed in the greatest secrecy. An archaic Middle English meaning of the word crest is ‘pride, courage, spirit’. We find crests on many birds; the male of the species spreads and displays the crest when he courts the female. This is a unique Mossi bird crest mask and would be a wonderful addition to your collection and home.COMES ON STANDThis mask shows age, some discoloration, but is in good condition. Rare One of a Kind.Mask on Stand
28\" tallMask
24\" tallMask with Raffia
6 1/2\" wideMask Wood to Hair
6\" wide top Braided Raffia
18\" longBeak to Raffia
10\" deepBeak
3\" wideAnimal Nose
4 1/2\" long
2 1/2\" wide WE CAN PROVIDE REFERENCES FOR ALL ARTIFACTS THAT WE SELL, AS WELL AS DOCUMENTATION TOWARD THEIR AUTHENTICITY. FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE WILL BE PROVIDED FOR DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS. YOUR SATISFACTION IS OUR MAIN GOAL, AND WE THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING AT THE WORLD OF BACARA. M012