Kpeliyé'e Face Mask - Senufo Culture, Ivory Coast

Kpeliyé'e FACE MASK Senufo culture, Côte d'Ivoire Copper alloy
H. 32.5 cm, length 15 cm

This face mask has a very tapered face, a pair of openwork eyes, and numerous facial scarifications over the entire surface - flat or protruding, such as the pair of geometrically cut wings on the temples and cheeks - which can be associated with the idea of an avian figure. It has a pair of horns reminiscent of a ram.

The mask rests on two stylised legs, while the top of its forehead is animated by a chameleon - its head turned towards the mask's face.
This mask is reminiscent of the eponymous masks danced during the Poro initiation ritual.

No. B8 from the exhibition ‘BRONZES, MINIATURES MONUMENTALES’, part two