Bobo people | helmet mask | African Art & South Pacific

Africa, the South Pacific, and the Americas

helmet mask

Culture or people Bobo people
Creation date 1920-1950
Materials wood, pigment
Dimensions 58 1/2 11 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.
Credit line Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Eiteljorg
Accession number 1989.249

Gallery Label

Molo masks are believed to house the spirit of the diety Dwo, and are among the more sacred Bobo headpieces. Maskers appear at harvests, male initiations, burials and funerals. This example is missing much of the pigment that usually covers these carvings with geometric patterns.

Descriptive tags added by visitors:

African, angular, animalistic, Bobo, cap mask, distinct facial features, distraction, elongated, extreme porportions, geometric decoration, helmet, horned, intense, long nose, long snout, rabbit antenae, Sudan, tiny round eyes, Western Africa, wooden mask
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