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A black plastic child's doll has been added to the horns to create a karan wemba, to honor a female ancestor. In the southwest masks represent animals such as antelope, bush buffalo, and various strange creatures, are painted red, white and black. In the east, around Boulsa, masks have tall posts above the face to which fiber is attached.
The Benin ivory mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of Idia, the first Iyoba (Queen Mother) of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of a traditional African mask. [1] The masks were looted by the British from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the Benin Expedition of 1897 .
African masks usually emulate a human or animal face in an abstract way. The inherent lack of realism in African masks (and African art in general) is justified by the fact that most African cultures clearly distinguish the essence of a subject from its looks, the former, rather than the latter, being the actual subject of artistic representation.
Built in horizontal shapes, these masks can represent different animals and have specific designs. For example, a butterfly mask would have concentric circles, while a hawk mask would have a plain white surface. these masks are worn for female entertainment. [12] The northern Bwa use leaf masks more than wooden ones.
Chiwara masks are categorized in three ways: horizontal, vertical, or abstract. In addition, Chiwara can be either male or female. Female Chiwara masks are denoted by the presence of a baby antelope and straight horns. Male Chiwara masks have bent horns and a phallus. The sex of a Chiwara mask is much clearer on horizontal and vertical masks ...
Africa Explores: 20th-Century African Art. Center for African Art, 1994. Woodward, Richard B. African Art: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Museum, 2000. Roberts, Allen F., et al. Animals in African Art: from the Familiar to the Marvelous. The Museum for African Art, 1995. "Baga - Art & Life in Africa - The University of Iowa Museum of Art."
Although the color black can be a sign of bad luck or death, the symbolism of the black butterfly isn't all negative! Instead, black butterflies symbolize transformation, rebirth, and change.
The white-faced masks are also used by other Gabon and Zaire rainforest people, such as the Kotas and Mpongwe, [13] The Ashira also share in the white-faced mask tradition, which includes soft facial characteristics. [14] The masks have been linked to the Mukui society and to female ancestor celebration dances, [7] a funerary spirit association ...