The Dogon have around 80 different mask types and their so-called ‘Dama dances’ are the last and most important part of their large burial and ancestral ceremonies. Young men in ‘Kanaga mask costumes’ perform extremely dynamic dances in rows. Complete ‘Kanaga masks’ have a tall crest above with a long, vertical plank – carved out from the same piece as the mask head – as well as two shorter, diagonal planks attached to them. According to different lores these crests symbolise people, crocodiles, and also flying birds. In the ‘Dama dances’, the Dogon mask dancers with their tall mask crests endeavour to touch the ground while performing their wild leaps and contortions. In doing so, the crests often break off – as is the case with our ‘Kanaga mask’.
The present head section of such a ‘Kanaga mask’ is unusually old and nicely abstracted in a ‘cubist’ style. It is made from light-coloured and lightweight wood and shows a tall, pointed and square crest which, on the front, blends into a long, flat, shaped nose. Underneath there is a round, protruding mouth over a short, carved chin. The triangular eyes are deep-set underneath a straight, square eyebrow line. On both cheeks – right and left – a large hole can be found for a ‘bite bar’ to be inserted. With this the ‘Kanaga’ dancers can keep the tall crests in place and hold on to them easily. The entire object, as well as all fastening eyelets show very good traces of usage and patina. The site of the breakage is noticeable at the uppermost point of the crown of the mask.
An old crack runs vertically down the left side of the face, with four small holes from an earlier, original repair. There are some smaller breaks on the edges and age-related erosion in patches on some exposed surfaces. Overall an artistically very impressive, old object. Height: 40 cm; between c. 1900 and the first third of the 20th century. (ME)

Provenance:
Austria private collection.

Lit.:
Comparable items: Sotheby's auction, New York, 16 May 2014, lot 292. A very similar 'Kanaga-mask' of the Dogon (also a fragment without crest) from the Nicole & John Dintenfass Collection, as well as from the Jan Krugier Collection; Sotheby's auction, New York, 14 Nov. 2003, lot 1, Graham Collection (a similar object).