A Bobo Molo Helmet Mask...

Description

A Bobo Molo Helmet Mask
Kurumani region, Burkina Faso, c. early to mid-20th century

This large and imposing Molo helmet mask exemplifies the Kurumani style of central Bobo carving. Carved from heavy hardwood and painted with bluish-black and white natural earth pigments. The rectangular facial plane is bisected vertically by a long nose, while the mouth is a protruding cone on the bottom flange or handle. The surface and the nose bear large triangles said to represent scarification marks. Square eyeholes peer out from under the sharp, projecting brow, the proper right framed in black paint, the left in white. The large helmet is painted with dots and bears a central crest flanked by two tall horns and C-shaped ears on the sides. The horns are painted in black and white stripes and slightly faceted to catch the light dynamically in performance. Twine is looped through perforations on the crest. In very good condition, the paints flaked and scuffed.

The Molo mask is among the most important and sacred of Bobo mask types, created and danced by the smiths' association during initiation rituals. It embodies Dwo, the spirit of new life and growth, whose appearance in springtime ceremonies signaled renewal of the community and the land. The long, rectilinear face and soaring vertical horns are hallmarks of the type, and in Kurumani versions these features are magnified into a composition of great severity and power. Performances of Molo masks are renowned for their energy and athleticism, the dancers spinning so violently that the mask seems to fly from the head, secured only by the firm grip of the handle at the chin.

Compares favorably to the Molo mask from the Harrison Eiteljog collection published twice: Celenko (Theodore), "A Treasury of African Art from the Harrison Eiteljorg Collection", Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983, #15; and Robbins (Warren M.) and Nooter (Nancy Ingram), "African Art in American Collections, Survey 1989", Washington/London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989, #106.

Height: 67 inches

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