Toma mask, Sierra Leone - Lot 130

Lot n° 130
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Estimation :
500 - 800 EUR
Toma mask, Sierra Leone - Lot 130
Toma mask, Sierra Leone Wood, feathers, vegetable fibers H. 70 cm Provenance : Paul and Jacqueline Canfère collection acquired from Jean-Michel Huguenin (according to oral information from descendants). The political and religious life of the Toma, called Loma in Liberia, was governed by the poro association. The masks, whose typology and meaning remain little known in Western collections, were reserved for the initiated. Almost exclusively represented in Western collections by the powerful Landaià mask announcing the reclusion of the future initiates, in retreat for a month in the forest, and then their symbolic rebirth at the end of it. Considered by Harley as the "chief of masks" (1941: 27), the landaïà symbolizes the opposing forces of nature and the spirit of the bush. The mask presented here, with its human and animal features, horizontal, very pure, is adorned with a headdress from which horns spring, the face with almost effaced features, is animated by a long linear nasal bridge, in relief, descending from its forehead to its mouth. Extremely rare for this type of mask.
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