| SENUFO Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Mali |
| Kpelie mask "It is a delicately carved mask combining both human and animal features. Although it was always owned and worn by a man, Kpelie represented the concept of feminine beauty and fertility. The unique features which characterize the Kpelie mask include elongated flanges radiating from the bottom part of the mask, which are a reference to the hornbill bird. The horns on the mask refer to the ram, an important sacrificial animal. The nodules on the forehead represent palm nuts as well as vulvas; they are flanked by cicatrization marks that symbolize the twins born to the primordial couple. The Kpelie mask was used at initiation in the societies for boys, adolescents, and adults, at funeral rituals designed to lead the spirit into the land of the dead, and at harvest festivals to thank the ancestors for a good crop. Kpelie- whether in carved wood or cast bronze copper alloy-- are usually oval in shape with arched crescent shaped eyebrows over narrow slit eyes. The small mouth opens below a slender nose. Scarification marks add to presentation of what is considered beautiful to the Senufo. On either side of the temples are semicircular and rectangular shapes that represent the stylized coiffure worn by Senufo mothers; the center shapes at the side representing ears. Animal horns-- bull, ram or antelope-- represent male attributes of the masquerade. There are often two appendages on either side of the chin, "legs" that connect the spirit to the earth. Most important are the figures on the head, which represent an ancestor closely connected with the society's origin. The figures worn depend on the caste group to which the individuals belong. However, much of the original significance of these emblems is no longer valid. Wassing has provided the following meanings: a comb, the symbol of agriculture, a bird- especially the hornbill-- linked with the smiths, a bundle of palm nuts, symbol of wood carvers, and small human figures connected with merchants. The hornbill--one of the first creatures on earth-- is an important symbol for the Senufo and appears on many of their carvings. Other styles of Kpelie exist in other region of Cote d’Ivoire. Along with the facemask, components of the masquerade include things held (an iron staff or horsetail dance whisk), the instrumental accompaniment, the lyrics sung, and the costume. The costume consists of a collar or cloak make of long fibers, a knotted robe decorated with black lozenge shapes (a diamond shape symbolic of the cycle of human life), and a bunch of red fibers." - Africa Art of a Continent |
| I currently do not have a Senufo Kpelie mask in my collection. Below are photos I took of 2 examples from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY |
| Some examples from Sotheby's auctions |
| Sotheby's May 2002 - LOT 87 Property from a Belgian Private Collector A FINE SENUFO MASK 10,000—15,000 USD Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 8,365 USD MEASUREMENTS height 11 3/4in. 29.9cm. DESCRIPTION kpelie, of hollowed oval form, the pointed chin beneath a jutting mouth with labret, the linear nose leading into arching brows above cheeks with linear scarification and pierced slit eyes, the sloping forehead with raised scarification, and the face framed by elaborate abstract appendages, '042' in black pigment on the reverse; fine and encrusted medium to dark brown patina. Provenance: Collected in the vicinity of Korhogo, Côte d'Ivoire by Simon Escarré in the 1930's |
| Sotheby's November 2003 - LOT 34 PROPERTY FROM A EUROPEAN COLLECTION A SUPERB SENUFO MASK 35,000—45,000 USD Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 45,000 USD MEASUREMENTS height 12in. 30.5cm DESCRIPTION kpelie, of oval deeply concave form, the thin perimeter pierced for attachment, the diminutive jutting facial plane with pursed lips beneath the philtrum pierced through and inserted with fiber, and a slender T-shaped nose framed by pierced, slit eyes and bands of incised scarification, the delicate sloping forehead with a raised ridge leading to elaborate abstract appendages at the crown and surrounding the face; exceptionally fine, slightly glossy and worn dark brown patina with areas of encrustation. PROVENANCE Collected in the Côte d'Ivoire by Simon Escarré, number 24/40 LITERATURE Holas 1978: 58 CATALOGUE NOTE Senufo kpelie masks of such remarkable refinement as the offered lot are rare. The closest comparable example is the well-known mask now in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts (see Kan 1995: 56, number 12), formerly in the Harry A. Franklin collection and exhibited in the seminal 1964 show Senufo Sculpture from West Africa at The Museum of Primitive Art, New York (see also Goldwater 1964: 15). The two masks can be compared with respect to overall quality of carving, attention to delicate detail and sensitive proportions, as well as the exceptionally fine treatment and age of the surface patina. These masks were worn during funeral rights staged by the Poro association. 'The festivities' climax is marked by a masquerade, which symbolically expresses the fundamental dualities in Senufo thought: male/female, body/spirit, life/death' (Kan ibid.). This particular mask represents a beautiful woman. The feminine aspects of the mask are symbolically expressed--'the lustrous black surface radiates like the youthful skin of a beautiful, marriageable young woman. Ornamental flanges framing the face are the baubles and bangles adorning a fine Senufo woman's traditional coiffure. ...Additionally, the rows of nodules on the crest are interpreted as the pods of the kapok, a splendid tree associated with civilization and human settlement' (ibid.). |
| Sotheby's - Paris Paolo Morigi collection : Important African Art Auction Date : Jun 6, 2005 PROVENANCE Etude Ader, Paris, le 27 juin 1989, n° 11 CATALOGUE NOTE An exceptional Senufo mask, Ivory Coast The kpeliye'e masks represent the face of an ideal woman. They are part of the poro men's society, and their role has multiple levels: to exercise political and social control, to transmit traditional knowledge, and to play a religious function. Specifically, in the case of funeral ceremonies, the kpeliye'e masks are supposed to chase the spirit of the deceased from the house. According to Garrard ( in Barbier, 1993: 86-105), these masks were inspired by the do, in particular, the mask of do muso (beautiful woman) from the Dyula. The Senufo share the geographic zone around Kong and Bondoukou with the Dyula. The curving lines flanking the lower part of the mask can be interpreted as a stylized version of the ear ornaments found on old masks from Bondoukou. The Morigi kpeliye'e is unusual within the corpus of related masks for the additional of an exceptional motif, repeated three times?the addition of a miniature kpeliye'e mask decorating the border of the mask. Cf. Goldwater (1964: cat. N 25) for a related mask showing a miniature bust. This mask, sculpturally remarkable, is characterized by the incredible tension between the accentuated curves of the face and the elements protruding from the head into space. The blacksmiths fonobele and the specialists in wood, kulebele, are divided in Senufo country, between the masks and sculpture, here in the Morigi mask we see an extremely high plastic quality which allows us to attribute this mask to a kulebele sculptor. Dimensions haut. 36 cm 14 1/3 in Estimate: € 50,000 - € 70,000 Price Realized: € 0 |
