A Monumental Bwa Butterfly Mask (Nwantantay)...

Description

A Monumental Bwa Butterfly Mask (Nwantantay)
Burkina Faso, c. early 20th century

Measuring an extraordinary 114 inches across, this plank mask is a rare and monumental example of the butterfly (nwantantay) mask tradition of the Bwa peoples. Its vast horizontal wings taper to sharp points, their tips enlivened with triangular patterning, while the wings are carved in low relief with four sets of concentric circles on each side. At the center rises a tubular mouth set beneath a downward-curved beak, emphasizing the stylized bird/insect form. The reverse bears a distinct suite of incised and painted checkerboards, attesting to the importance of decoration on both sides when the mask was raised aloft in performance. The surface retains strong areas of red, white, and black pigment, the classic palette of Bwa masquerade art. A single horizontal crack on the proper right wing, high points rubbed, small chip on top of proper left wing, otherwise in very good condition.

The concentric circles and bold geometry serve as moral codes taught to initiates, while performances at initiations, funerals, and harvests proclaimed lineage prestige and the community's link to powerful bush spirits. Though their round "eyes" and hooked beak have sometimes led outsiders to read them as owls or raptors, the Bwa and Bobo identify them as butterflies-emblems of metamorphosis and renewal. This mask is of rare scale and pictorial presence, embodying fertility, transformation, and ancestral prestige.

Provenance:
Acquired by the current collection in 1994
Lance Entwistle, London, UK and New York, NY
Christie's New York, November 4, 1994, lot 129

Published (online):
African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre (AHDRC) # 0203382. It is nearly identical to the one in the Musee du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, Paris, inventory #73.1975.7.1

Width: 114 inches

Estimate: $7,000 - $10,000.

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