A helmet mask, originally worn on the head. From the Bobo or their neighbours, the Gurunsi, whose style is occasionally very similar. The mask is carved from hard, heavy wood, with white underpainting and brownish-black overpainting. The face is recessed and outlined, with small, conically protruding eyes, straight nose, and with a closed mouth with accentuated, protruding lips and chin. The ears are round and protruding. On the crown of the head a central, narrow ‘cockscomb’ points backwards. The entire mask head is decorated below all around with a band of lines and double triangles in fine chip-carving relief. Two similar, larger relief bands run at the right and left of the crest from the top to the bottom. Interesting also on this piece is an original repair on the right side of the mask head: an earlier crack, from the crest over the entire head to the bottom, was once filled in with textile material and affixed with 13 iron clamps. This old head crest mask shows an encrusted, matt patina on the outside and an excellent, shiny usage patina on the inside. In addition to the old, original repair this object shows a small fracture to the frame of the face above, as well as two small, minor cracks to the lower edge. H: 21 cm; W: 20 cm; L: 33 cm (with crest). First half of the 20th century.

Provenance: German Private Collection.