West Africa, Nigerian/Cameroon border, Katana culture, ca. 1960. A very fine wooden Katana mask of a zoomorphic head with long, curved horns that are superimposed - one between the eyes and one further back on the head, bulging eyes, a prominent snout with an open mouth, and liberal remaining red pigmentation. The Katana have traditionally carved large wooden masks, like this example, to be worn atop the head with raffia costumes. Size: 6.1" W x 20.7" H (15.5 cm x 52.6 cm)

According to the Art & Life in Africa (University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art - UISMA), website's essay on the Katana peoples, hosted by the "Religious rituals, including masking ceremonies, are held in an effort to achieve balance between the dead, the god, nature spirits, and the living. The masks themselves represent a composite of nature and the god. Katana cosmology views the world in a basically dichotomous way contrasting the settled area of the village with the wild areas of nature."

Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection, purchased in 2012 from Andrew Berz at Berz Gallery of African Art, San Francisco, California, USA

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#156482

Repair to small area of lower mask rim, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Abrasions and light fading to original pigment, with nicks to horns, mask, and snout, and light encrustations. Great remains of pigment throughout.