Tribal Art

The African art sculptures of the Bobo, Bwa, Kurumba and Mossi, living in Burkina Faso, frequently take up and combine stylized elements borrowed from men, animals or even insects. In the center of the hollowed-out pupils, surmounting a zoomorphic mouth, runs the sinuous figure of a serpent. The decorative motifs traced on the contours of the mask are inspired by traditional scarifications. Chipped matte patina.
Mossi masks are an embodiment of ministering spirits offering their support. They perform at burials, funerals of clan chiefs, protect crops. Their appearance is now frequent during entertainment shows. Upper Volta, Burkina Faso since independence, is made up of the descendants of the Nakomse invaders, horsemen from Ghana, and the Tengabibisi, descendants of the natives. Among them, farmers and blacksmiths, saaba, used masks, wando, receptacles of tutelary spirits, which often represented the animal totems of the clan.