. Mossi helmet mask, Burkina Faso This African... Lot 48

. Mossi helmet mask, Burkina Faso This African Mossi mask with a bird's beak, embodying a spirit, has a ridge at the top between two curved horns. A polychrome patina enhances the decorative motifs. The mask's owner and his family worshipped the object through offerings such as millet beer, while invoking its protection. Locally cracked, grainy patina 19 x 18 x 23 cm The black patina was originally obtained from charcoal and gum tree pods. Mossi masks, personal or lineage, are the embodiment of tutelary spirits offering their support. They appear at funerals, at the funerals of clan chiefs, and protect harvests. True altars without their costumes, they can receive libations such as millet beer to honor the ancestors. Their appearance is now a regular feature of entertainment shows. Upper Volta, Burkina Faso since independence, is made up of the descendants of the invading Nakomse, horsemen originally from Ghana, and the Tengabibisi, descendants of the natives. Among them, the farmers and blacksmiths, saaba , used masks, wando, receptacles of tutelary spirits, which often represented the clan's totem animals.