SENUFO OR LIGBI MASK |

Henri Kamer, Paris
Howard and Saretta Barnet, New York, acquired from the above on June 8, 1960

The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, February 20 - May 5, 1963; and travelling: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, July 12 - August 11, 1963; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, September 17 - October 27, 1963

Robert Goldwater, Senufo Sculpture from West Africa, New York, 1964, p. 37, cat. no. 38

Very good unmodified condition for an object of this type and age. Two old losses to rim on reverse. An old loss to the lower lip, visible in the catalogue. Loss to one projecting element on proper left side. minor loss to tip of beak. Old losses to metal. Fine varied aged uncleaned patina.
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In their 2014 exhibition Senufo Unbound, African art scholars Constantine Petridis and Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi argued that the general categorization of works of art originating from the "three corners" border region of modern-day Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire under the broad "Senufo" label overlooks the stylistic and cultural diversity of the area and its people. While the cosmology and social structures of many of cultures in that region were similar, there did exist marked differences in their rituals and belief systems as well as styles of artistic production. The Ligbi, for example, lived in the southeastern part of Senufo country, close to the ancient trading center of Kong. Although they and many of their neighboring peoples had long been converted to Islam, ceremonies featuring the appearance of masks were recorded by scholars who visited the area well into the twentieth century. In recent literature, a corpus of Ligbi masks has been identified by common iconographic characteristics such as ear and headdress ornaments, the expression of facial features, and the prominent depiction of similar scarification patterns. Ornately decorated and subtly expressive, this mask embodies the beauty and elegance typical of both Senufo and Ligbi forms. A stylized spoonbill, a common artistic motif in Senufo initiatory rituals, emphatically rises from the top of the mask’s forehead. Its downward pointing beak is echoed by the sharp and elongated nose that bisects the central portion of the face. Similar to other masks attributed to the Ligbi style, the crescent-shaped eyes are downcast and the small rounded lips protrude from the face, features which impart a sense of melancholy. Geometrically-shaped ornaments project both downward and laterally from the ears while the face is marked with traces of abstract scarification, many of which have been covered by metal appliques. In its gently stylized form and unique iconographic composition, the mask achieves a hybridization of the ideals of Senufo and Ligbi artistic beauty.

The Ligbi and other Islamic peoples in Senufo country did not participate in the well-documented poro rituals common to other cultures along the Guinea Coast. Instead, these cultures had do societies, which according to Timothy F. Garrard, "[functioned] largely as a fraternal association providing entertainment at major Islamic festivals and other special events"¹, with little emphasis on initiations. Despite their Islamic faith, the ceremonies of do societies featured colorful and lively masquerades, during which performers dressed in full-body costumes and adopted different characters as a form of public entertainment.

¹ Garrard in Barbier, ed., Art of Côte d'Ivoire: from the Collections of the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Vol. 1, Geneva, 1993, p. 88