Kpelie masks are usually oval in shape with arched crescent shaped eyebrows over narrow slit eyes. The small mouth opens below a slender nose. Scarification marks add to presentation of what is considered beautiful to the Senufo. On either side of the temples are semicircular and rectangular shapes that represent the stylized coiffure worn by Senufo mothers; the center shapes at the side representing ears. There are often two appendages on either side of the chin, “legs” that connect the spirit to the earth. Kpeli is an ancestor mask which is used during initiation & funeral ceremonies of the Poro society. Although the occasions on which it is used may differ, it always represents an ancestor closely connected with the society's origin. The funerals both commemorate the deceased and reintegrate the mourning relatives into the community, with the intention of creating the appropriate atmosphere for the deceased to leave the world of the living to enter the ancestral realm. Provenance: Dutch collection/Gallery Italiaander