Bedu mask, very large IN0132

This Bedu (moon) mask from Guinea, West Africa is an antique original. It’s a remarkable artefact in a number of respects.  First its size, at 1.9metres high it’s big and wide as well at 0.8 metres. It still has the original head-board on the back (see photos) The artwork is in very good condition and displays beautifully the typical motifs of the African Sahara. The depth of the mask at 23.0 cm deep and the mask will sit out from the wall by this amount.  An extraordinary artifact in perfect condition.  Collected by us in 2001 in Burkina Faso.

General comments,

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 190.0 cm (1.9m)

Width 80.0 cm

depth, 23.0 cm (front to back)