Dogon mask - Dogon - Mali

Dogon masks, which are the essential attribute of the men's society to which all adults in the village belong, are generally kept outside the village, hidden from female eyes, near the fiber costumes that accompany their display and near the 'mother of masks,' an enormous human face extended by a sinuous board that can reach up to ten meters in length. The Sirige mask has a rectangular face, divided by a vertical edge into two cavities, and is crowned by a giant plate that can be up to five meters high. On it, either purely painted or engraved, there are triangular motifs and parallel lines. Sirige means something like 'house with floors.' These drawings summarize the different stages of creation, the steps that separate heaven from earth, and the succession of generations. The parallel vertical lines symbolize the facade of Ginna, 'the family home,' which serves as an analogy to the great human family.

Provenance: Private collection, Barcelona
Argiles Collection, Barcelona