Rare Senufo Helmet Mask, Côte d'Ivoire
degele
Wood
Height 34 1/2in (87.5cm)

Provenance
Probably Père Gabriel Clamens (1907-1964) et Père Michel Convers (1919-2000), Lataha, Côte d'Ivoire
Emil Storrer, Zürich, circa 1950
Josef Müller Collection, Solothurn, Switzerland, 1952
Christie's, London, 13 June 1978, Lot 30
Peter and Monika Wengraf, Arcade Gallery, London
Virginia Private Collection, acquired from the above in December 1978

Always ritually danced in pairs of male and female, the female pair to the present work is probably the degele female mask donated by Eliot Elisofon to The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University (Object Number: 62-48-50/10583). A similar couple, also owned by Elisofon, is published in Robert Goldwater's seminal work Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, The Museum of Primitive Art, 1964, fig. 84.

Age distress lines with separation to back and front on left side; old loss to back of figure's head; chips and losses to the ringed column; chips and losses to the head and face; nicks, scratches, abrasions and wear consistent with age and use.