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Good condition, repair made to one wing. Well rendered piece, with earthy geometric patterns and the deep symbolism typical of Bobo art. The hornbill is depicted, revered throughout Africa as a harbinger of luck. Birds, throughout millennia and a vast number of human cultures have been messengers to the heavens, the bridge between the physical and metaphysical worlds. This is in keeping with this mask's function as an emissary to the skies at times of planting, harvest, marriages, deaths and circumcisions. This mask would dance at various rites of passage in the lives of the tribe as a whole and the individuals within it, as well as times when advice and favor from above is sought.
The circles that form the eyes represent unity and cycles - of time, the seasons, the unchanging movement of the heavens, rites of passage of individuals and indeed, the whole tribe. Concentric circles, represent cycles that affect us all: states of being and the orders of creation, expressed in something as simple as the seasons. |
