Serpent mask
Maker
Burkina Faso
Maker
Bwa
Label TextSlithering down from the sky, a serpent mask with a body completely covered by dark raffia made a dramatic entrance. By twisting its head from side to side rapidly, the serpent would seem to ripple in the air. Serpent masks were most often called upon to thank spirits and ancestors for enabling bountiful harvests.
Object number81.17.86
Provenance[Alexander-Suggs Gallery, Inc., Clayton, Missouri]; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1975; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981
Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
Dimensions151 9/16 x 8 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (385 x 21 x 26 cm)
MediumWood, fiber, hair, pigment
Burkina Faso
19th-20th century
Object number: 81.17.112
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