An old polychrome Mowango mask in the Kaya style, with engra - Lot 27

An old polychrome Mowango mask in the Kaya style, with engraved decoration and a very elegant antelope head perched on its long neck at the front of the mask. Despite two missing fractured parts of the structure so characteristic of the rather rare Mowango masks, this mask bears witness to a very fine early style, particularly through the workmanship and the lively expression of the antelope, which recall the quality of some of the most beautiful vertical Tiwara antelopes of the Bambara of neighboring Mali. Mossi, Burkina Faso Wood, old ochre pigment, slight age cracks, visible cracks (old breaks and xylophage), old dry patina. H. 87.5 cm Provenance : Collection of the administrator of Ecouen, acquired in 1940 Gregory Chesne, Lyon, 2009 Collection Jean-Claude and Christine L'Herbette, Paris Publications and exhibitions: Giquello, Arts d'Afrique, June 19, 2023, no. 6