Title: Dogon Satimbe Mask with Female Figure on top
Type of Object: Mask
Ethnic Group: Dogon
Country of Origin: Mali
Materials: wood, pigment
Approximate Age: Mid 20th century
Dimensions: Length is 15 inches, width is 8 inches, depth is 6 inches.
Overall Condition: Good
Damage, Repair: General wear, evidence of old insect damage, No repairs.
Additional Information: Wooden Mask with a male figure on top. The mask has triangular eye holes, a narrow-straight nose, an open mouth showing carved tooth, a beard-like with incised lines, and pointed ears. A superb mask. Patina is light brown and encrusted. This is an old mask that shows signs of long use.
The use of masks with human figures and other superstructures on top is more common among the Dogon. The figure as well as the facial mask are quite impressive. Because of its high ears pointed like horns, this mask may be classified in the category of Walu or an antelope masks. This traditional Walu mask dances during the Dama funeral rites, during the Sigi ceremony organized every sixty years to celebrate the spirits of dead. Walu masquerade tells the story of creation involving the mythical antelope Walu.
Oral tradition of the Dogon tells us that they originated on the west bank of the Niger River about 1000 years ago. They moved west at some point, into parts of what is now Mossi territory in Burkina Faso, but chose to return east due to pressure to assimilate into the Mossi Kingdom. This time, around 1500, they found a place almost unreachable by invaders on horseback--the arid but imposing Bandiagara Cliffs. Here most of the Dogon have remained to this day, as one of Africa's most spiritual people.An example of a Satimbe mask is on p. 71 of L'ART DU PAYS DOGON DANS LES COLLECTIONS DU MUSEE DE L'HOMME.
Recommended Reading:
Kate Ezra, Art of the Dogon. Selection from the Lester Wunderman Collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988
Jean Laude, AFRICAN ART OF THE DOGON. The Myths of the Cliff Dwellers, 1973
**W2407**
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