Mask Head (Kagba or Navige)

Description

When it was performed, this antelope mask head was vertically attached to a tent-shaped construction made from twigs and colored fabric, which hid a male dancer underneath. Kagba appeared primarily at funerals and initiations organized by the all-male Poro association. The last sculptures of this type were apparently created in the early 1960s, when local iconoclastic movements and the unrest triggered by Côte d’Ivoire’s struggle for independence led to the cessation of these practices.

Provenance

Anita J. Glaze, from 1964 or 1965, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire, and later Illinois [documentation provided by the donor, copy in curatorial records]; given to the Art Institute, 2019.

Mask Head (Kagba or Navige)

Senufo

Early/mid-20th century

Accession Number

249234

Medium

Wood and pigment

Dimensions

68.6 × 17.2 × 19.1 cm (27 × 6 3/4 × 7 1/2 in.)

Classification

african art

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Anita Glaze