Hornbill/Crocodile Mask (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Both the hornbill and the crocodile are well established in the supernatural universe of masks from the Nuna, the Bwa, and other cultures in Burkina Faso and neighboring regions. Legends about how a crocodile saved a hungry man and the belief that the hornbill can communicate with otherworldly spirits imbue this mask with a double mystique.
Nuna artists show great originality in making masks, and their forms are often borrowed by the neighboring Bwa. In this exciting composition, the crocodile hovers above the head of the hornbill, revealing the artist’s creativity and mastery of wood-carving. The rope network tied to the mask is used to attach a voluminous raffia costume that completely conceals the dancer, as seen in the adjacent photograph.
Nuna artists show great originality in making masks, and their forms are often borrowed by the neighboring Bwa. In this exciting composition, the crocodile hovers above the head of the hornbill, revealing the artist’s creativity and mastery of wood-carving. The rope network tied to the mask is used to attach a voluminous raffia costume that completely conceals the dancer, as seen in the adjacent photograph.
Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. “Celebrating African and African-American Art.” Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, February - March 2002.
Woodward, Richard B. African Art: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2000. (p. 64-65)
Richard B. Woodward, African Art (Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1994) pp. 64-65, ills.
Roy, Christopher. Art of the Upper Volta Rivers. Meudon, France: Alain et Francoise Chaffin, 1987. (illus. 183, p.223)
Woodward, Richard B. African Art: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2000. (p. 64-65)
Richard B. Woodward, African Art (Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1994) pp. 64-65, ills.
Roy, Christopher. Art of the Upper Volta Rivers. Meudon, France: Alain et Francoise Chaffin, 1987. (illus. 183, p.223)
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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