Female Figure from a Karan-Wemba (Living Ancestress) Mask
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Object Details
Artist/Maker
Mossi Artist, Burkina Faso
Date
sixteenth century
Medium
Wood and iron
Dimensions
27 x 7 x 7 1/2 inches
Credit
Purchase through funds provided by the Richman Special Initiatives Endowment, Judy and Scott Lampert, Pamola and Guy Lescault, Barbara and Bert Levy, Barbara and Laurence Murphy, and Friends of African Art
Accession #
2016.205
Description
This dynamically carved figure was commissioned to honor a woman who had outlived her husband and attained the rank of “living ancestress,” a beacon of wisdom. Worn with a fiber costume, the mask—understood as an active entity—performed at the funeral of the ancestress and at subsequent commemorative festivals to promote communal well-being.