Bush Cow Crest
The head of a Cape buffalo has been interpreted into a series of geometric shapes. Adapting the image of a burly slow-moving animal into a masquerade, carvers capture the swirling strength of its horns, completing the costume with a suit of tufted raffia. Energetic as a charging buffalo, the masquerader is called upon to witness appeals for vigorous crop fertility and childbirth.
Wood
5 1/2 x 13 1/8 x 18 1/2 in. (14 x 33.4 x 47 cm)
Gift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company
81.17.544
Provenance: [Felix Gluckselig Antiques, New York]; purchased from gallery by Katherine White (1929-1980), Seattle, Washington, 1977; bequeathed to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1981