Mossi Mask 1
Mossi Mask 1
Artist: Unknown Mossi artist
Name: wango (wan-go) mask
Origin: Mossi people of Burkina Faso
Made of: Wood, pigment, animal hide
Dimensions: H: 37 3/8” (95 cm) W: 10 3/8” (26.5cm) D: 9 7/8” (25cm)
From: Gift of Dr. Oliver E. and Pamela F. Cobb, 2008
Accession No. 2008.02.004
On display in the PLU’s Mortvedt Library (2nd floor)
Burkina Faso
Description: An elongated mask painted with triangular designs of red, white, and blue pigment. The crest features many triangular shapes and negative space. The mask with its long face and small rectangular eyes, when accompanied by a full body suit, serves to obscure the wearer. Instead, the wearer embodies the spirits of the ancestors of the clan to whom the mask belongs.