Kunst

Interiør og dekoration

Smykker og ædelstene

Ure, kuglepenne og lightere

Mode

Mønter og frimærker

Tegneserier og animation

Klassiske Biler, Motorcykler og automobilia

Vin, whisky og spiritus

Asiatisk Kunst og stammekunst

Byttekort

Legetøj og modeller

Arkæologi og naturhistorie

Sport

Musik, film og kameraer

Bøger og historiske memorabilia

De fineste genstande bragt til dig af {name}

Julien Gauthier

An extremly rare Senufo Tagbana mask collected in Boundiali region Ivory Coast, with xowtir shells attached to the top of the head, glossy touch patina; signs of ritual use and age. Incl stand.

The Senufo people, primarily located in northern Côte d’Ivoire, southern Mali, and southwestern Burkina Faso, have a rich tradition of mask-making, with the Tagbana mask being among the rarer examples. Tagbana masks are associated with specialized ritual and initiatory contexts and are distinguished by their highly stylized, abstracted forms, which often combine anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features. Unlike more common Senufo masks such as the Kpeliye’e or Karfiguela types, Tagbana masks tend to be smaller, more sculpturally refined, and often display intricate geometric patterns or delicate carvings that reflect the maker’s attention to symbolic and aesthetic detail.

The function of these masks is closely linked to secret societies and ritual ceremonies, sometimes connected with male initiation or funerary practices. Their rarity is partly due to their restricted use within these societies and the careful transmission of knowledge regarding their production. Materials are typically light woods suitable for carving, sometimes decorated with pigments or metal attachments, emphasizing their ritual rather than utilitarian character. Collectors and scholars note that surviving Tagbana masks are scarce, and provenance is often difficult to trace, adding to their significance within both ethnographic and art-historical contexts.

Key references for further study include works by Henry John Drewal on Senufo art, and the catalogues of Senufo collections in European and American museums, which occasionally note Tagbana pieces for their rarity and stylistic distinctiveness.

These masks are dated early to mid-20th century. Carved from light wood, the mask presents an abstracted anthropomorphic form with subtle geometric incisions and traces of pigment. Used within secret society rituals and initiatory ceremonies, the Tagbana is distinguished by its refined proportions and delicate sculptural detail. Extremely rare, these masks were produced for specialized ritual contexts rather than for display, making surviving examples uncommon in both private and museum collections.

Among the Senufo peoples of northern Côte d’Ivoire, southern Mali, and western Burkina Faso, the Tagbana subgroup occupies a region where artistic and ritual practices intersect with those of neighboring groups such as the Kafibele and Djimini. Tagbana masks form part of the broader Senufo masking complex, yet they exhibit distinctive stylistic and functional variations that reflect their particular social and historical context. In Tagbana communities, masks are deeply embedded in the structure of the Poro association, the central institution that governs initiation, education, and the transmission of moral and spiritual values.

Tagbana masks operate at the threshold between human and spiritual domains. They appear in rituals that mark stages of male initiation, agricultural cycles, and funerary observances. Within the Poro, masks serve not merely as decorative or expressive forms but as instruments of transformation, embodying bush spirits whose intervention ensures social stability and fertility. The authority of the mask rests on its connection to the ancestral realm, which is simultaneously protective and potentially dangerous.

Aesthetically, Tagbana masks share certain canonical Senufo traits—geometric abstraction, an emphasis on balanced composition, and refined surface treatment—but also display particular variations. Some are elongated, with angular planes and projecting forms that recall avian or zoomorphic features. Others integrate more schematic human elements, suggesting an interplay between naturalistic and symbolic representation. Pigments of red, black, and white, along with attachments of fiber, feathers, or metal, extend the visual field of the mask and activate it in performance. The restrained elegance of Tagbana sculpture contrasts with the more exuberant dynamism of western Senufo and We masks, reflecting local notions of propriety and spiritual containment.

Performance is essential to the meaning of Tagbana masks. Their choreography and soundscape—accompanied by drums, rattles, and chants—mediate between visibility and secrecy. The masked dancer’s movements articulate an ethics of discipline and knowledge that the Poro seeks to instill. At funerals, certain mask types appear to honor the deceased, to guide the spirit toward the ancestral domain, and to reaffirm the continuity of the community. Each mask’s form and dance vocabulary are governed by a system of prohibitions and permissions that maintain the delicate balance between revelation and concealment.

In Western collections and catalogues, Tagbana masks have often been subsumed under the generic label “Senufo,” a classification that has obscured regional distinctions and local meanings. Contemporary scholarship increasingly emphasizes the need to recognize the internal diversity of Senufo artistic traditions and to situate objects like the Tagbana mask within the living social and ritual frameworks that produced them. Such an approach restores their significance as dynamic agents of social cohesion, spiritual mediation, and aesthetic expression.

References

Glaze, Anita J. Art and Death in a Senufo Village. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981.
Homberger, Lorenz. The Art of Côte d’Ivoire. Zurich: Museum Rietberg, 1990.
Schildkrout, Enid, and Curtis A. Keim. African Reflections: Art in Northeastern Zaire. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1990.
Vogel, Susan Mullin. Art of the Senufo: Masterpieces from Côte d’Ivoire. New York: The Museum for African Art, 1989.
Zahan, Dominique. The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Height: 49 cm without stand

Træ - Rimelig stand

Et træmask - Tagbana - Senufo - Elfenbenskysten  (Ingen mindstepris)

Afrikansk kunst og stammekunst

Reservepris

Ingen mindstepris

Køb nu

Slutdato

i morgen

i dag

onsdag

torsdag

fredag

mandag

tirsdag

8 marts

Budget

Lokation

Frankrig

Belgien

Holland

Tyskland

Østrig

Spanien

Italien

Luxembourg

Rumænien

Bulgarien

Schweiz

Polen

Portugal

Irland

Israel

Japan

Mål

Højde

Bredde

Dybde

Genstand

Stammekunst og -genstande

Stammemasker

Gamle skulpturer, udskæringer og figurer

Figur

Stammetekstiler og -tøj

Dansemaske

Skulptur

Stammesmykker og -udsmykninger

Tekstil

Daggert

Fetish figur

Maleri

Kort sværd

Forfaderfigur

Stammebøger, -manuskripter og -kataloger

Perle

Skjold

Katalog

Stammevåben og -skjolde

Armbånd

Nakkestøtte

Figur hoved

Musikinstrumenter

Stammemøbler

Oprindelsesland

DR Congo

Mali

Nigeria

Congo

Elfenbenskysten

Gabon

Burkina Faso

Ghana

Cameroun

Benin

Afrika

Tanzania

Den Demokratiske Republik Congo

Togo

Liberia

Etiopien

Marokko

Sydafrika

Angola

Tchad

Niger

Haiti

Kenya

Materiale

Træ

Bronze

Terrakotta

Glas

Sten

Jern (smedet)

Aluminium

Kobber

Metal

Læder

Jern (støbt/smeltet)

Sølv

Patineret bronze

Knogle

Stål

Messing

Bomuld

Horn

Ibenholt

Jern (støbt)

Fajance

Fedtsten

Vidje

Køn

Unisex

Kvinder

Mænd

Tilstand

God stand

Rimelig stand

God stand - brugt med små tegn på aldring og mindre fejl

fremragende stand

Rimelig stand -  brugt meget og mindre dele mangler muligvis

Som ny - ubrugt

Behov for restaurering

Rimelig

God stand - brugt med nogle tegn på slid

God stand - brugt med små tegn på aldring

Fremragende stand - næsten ikke brugt med minimalt tegn på aldring og slid

God stand, se beskrivelse

Dårlig - brugt meget med store revner, skader eller manglende store dele

Fremragende stand - knap brugt med minimalt tegn på slid

Som ny

Meget god

Fremragende

Generelt i god stand med tegn på aldring og brug

Ikke-udstedt/som ny

Meget god stand, se beskrivelse

Meget god stand, meget lette tegn på brug

Generelt i god stand

Rimelig stand - brugt med synlige tegn på slid

Ekstra tilbehør

Ingen ekstramaterialer

I erstatningsemballage

uden manual uden boks

Periode

midten af det 20. århundrede

Slutningen af det 20. århundrede

1930-1940

2000-2010

1920-1930

Begyndelsen af det 20. århundrede

1950-1960

1940-1950

1980-1990

1990-2000

1960-1970

1910-1920

2020+

1970-1980

Slutningen af det 19. århundrede

1900-1910

2010-2020

midten af det 19. århundrede

1850-1900

Begyndelsen af det 19. århundrede

21. århundrede

1650-1700

begyndelsen af det 18. århundrede

Aravidu-dynastiet (16.-17. århundrede)

1400-1450

Certificering

Ingen laboratorierapport

Emne

Mandlige figurer

Portræt

Stammekunst og -kultur

Brugskunst (Design)

Stil

Antik

Naivisme

Art Deco

Folkekunst

Bauhaus

Samtidskunst

Afrikansk kunst og stammekunst

Denne genstand er ikke længere tilgængeligt, men der er stadig meget at udforske

Et træmask - Tagbana - Senufo - Elfenbenskysten (Ingen mindstepris)

Populær i Afrikansk kunst og stammekunst

1332 genstande

Relaterede samlinger