African Art

On our recent trip, we shopped at two African art stores in Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington D.C. and we also visited the African art museum of the Smithsonian. At Bazaar Atlas, where our original two African masks were purchased around 12 years ago, we bought another mask (see above photos of our new and older masks). The proprietor told us it came from Burkina Faso. We think it is from the Senufo people who live in Burkina Faso, as well as Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and the extreme south of Mali, according to this website, which states:

"The Senufo produce a rich variety of sculptures, mainly associated with the poro society. The sculptors and metalsmiths, endogamous groups responsible for making the cult objects live on their own in a separate part of the village. The attitude shown toward them by other Senufo is a mixture of fear and respect, owing to their privileged relationship with the natural forces that they are capable of channeling in a sculpture. During initiations, headpieces are worn that have a flat, vertical, round or rectangular board on top decorated with paint or pierced work. ... Large statues representing hornbills (often seen also on masks) and used in the lo society as symbols of fertility are the standing birds called porpianong. Figures of the hornbill are used in initiation, and groups of birds on a pole are trophies for the best farmer."

At the Smithsonian, we saw a number of interesting art works, though were somewhat surprised that the overall selection was not as good as that of the Detroit Art Institute. In the foyer was another Linguist Staff from Ghana, and we also enjoyed the masks in a special collection on exhibit there.