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As African masks are largely appropriated by Europeans, they are widely commercialized and sold in most tourist-oriented markets and shops in Africa (as well as "ethnic" shops in the Western world). As a consequence, the traditional art of mask-making has gradually ceased to be a privileged, status-related practice, and mass production of masks ...
The Woyo masks are crafted from gourds. [3] Then they are carved out of wood for use, and painted with contrasting colors. [4] The colors used had symbolic meaning and were sometimes repainted, symbolizing rebirth, or to restore the power of the mask. [4] They are also decorated with sacred objects known as nkissi. [5]
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 .
Mask from Gabon Two Chiwara c. late 19th early 20th centuries, Art Institute of Chicago.Female (left) and male, vertical styles. Most African sculpture from regions south of the Sahara was historically made of wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than a few centuries ago, while older pottery figures are found from a number of areas.
Mapiko masks are worn during the rites of passage of circumcised boys. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] These wooden masks have been carved by master craftsmen, [ 3 ] made of soft wood and sometimes feature human hair. They represent human heads and may feature labrets or scarifications.
All Bobo masks serve as a means of contact between human beings and these deities; some represent the deities themselves while others, called bolo masks, depict animals and people. Bolo masks such as this one are usually danced for entertainment. The art of Burkina Faso is the product of a rich cultural history
Much African folk art consists of metal objects due in part to the cultural status of forging as a "process that is likened to the creation of life itself." [ 1 ] While in the past ceremonial pieces were exchanged as part of social rituals (i.e. marriage), today in Senegal , metal objects are recycled as utilitarian African folk art.
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 ...