Tribal Art

A hallucinogenic bark, the ebanza, allowed the wearer of this type of mask to enter a trance suitable for developing mediumistic abilities. Songs accompanied his appearance. Cracks, gritty kaolin residue, abrasions, native restorations (staples).
Height on base: 47 cm.
Akin to the African Okuyi masks of the Punu ethnicities of the Shira tribes, the African masks produced by the peripheral groups, Vuvi, Galoa and Mitsogho, are also covered with white pigments for apotropaic purposes. The oblique visor headdress, reminiscent of a capillary fashion in the Shira group, constituted the frontal part of a coffered hairstyle. Devoid of scarifications, this African mask has narrow protruding eyelids, a triangular nose and a diamond-shaped mouth that seems to whistle. Break. Grainy powdery patina.