Bedu Mask IN0133

An exceptional and beautiful piece this Bedu (moon) mask from Guinea, West Africa is an antique original, showing the original head-board on the mask rear and Tuareg stylization.  An extraordinary artifact in perfect condition.  Collected by us in 2001 in Burkina Faso.

The Bedu (moon dance) mask is carved
from wood and painted in indigenous geometric designs. The masks can
be large measuring up to 2.4 meters in height or if round as wide as
1.2 meters. During the dance ceremony the dancer is cloaked in a
raffia costume made from the bark of a local tree. During the month
of bedu 12 pairs of masks appear every night, accompanied by mass
singing and dancing. The purpose of the masks, which embody the
beneficent forces of the 12 moons of the Nefana (Luna Calender) was
to purify the community and to remedy wrongs. Often also called
harvest masks the Bedu mask is linked with fertility and the harsh
struggle to survive in Sahelian Africa.

Height 154.0 cm

Width 56.0 cm

depth 17.0 cm (from to back, it would sit out 17.0 cm from the wall)

Weight approximately 10 kg