Bobo Sun Mask
Bobo people, Burkina Faso — ceremonial sun mask
Carved for agricultural and harvest festivals, this mask honours the sun's power to yield a healthy crop. Its chequerboard pattern of light and dark is read differently depending on the viewer — a deliberate ambiguity between innocence and knowledge. The geometric abstraction of Bobo and Bwa masks directly influenced early-20th-century Western art movements, from Cubism onward.
Origin: Bobo people, Burkina Faso · Material: hand-carved wood
£195.00