Superstructure made of carved and polychrome wood, mostly with white pigment (kaolin), and black and red details. It is an anthropomorphic mask executed schematically, where flat spaces and straight lines predominate. The transverse arms are formed by two parallel, added and cross-tied planks of equal dimensions. The upper part is topped by two small statuettes representing the primordial couple, considered by the Dogon as their first ancestor. It is cross-shaped, similar to the Lorraine Cross. The lower part has a carved face with geometric shapes: the eyes are triangular openings and the rest are rectilinear features inherited from Tellem art.
The mask evokes the creator god Amma and is associated with the Dogon creation myth. The upper cross symbolizes the supernatural world, which is why it faces the sky; the lower cross, which faces the ground, symbolizes the earthly world. The central line that unites them represents the unity existing in the cosmos and the vision that the creator gives to man of it.
Dogon masks come in around eighty different types; not all have a distinct application, but almost all are used in the same dances, although each one marks different movements. They are anthropomorphic and zoomorphic, made in a schematic way and with a predominance of flat spaces and straight lines.
The "kanaga" is the best-known and most famous Dogon mask; it abstractly represents the bird of the same name. It is traditionally used by members of the Awa society in funerary rites, where they dance on the roof of the deceased's house to guide their soul (nyama) to its eternal rest, and at the same time defend the living from possible harm. It also serves a hunting function, protecting the wearer from the revenge of the spirit of the animal they have killed.
Condition: Very good state of preservation, polychrome in excellent condition.
DOGON MASK “KANAGA”
Mali, 19th century
