Mask Head (Kagba or Navige)

Arts of Africa

Early/mid-20th century

Senufo
Korhogo, northern Côte d’Ivoire
Northern Africa and the Sahel

When it was performed, this antelope mask head was vertically attached to a tent-shaped construction made from twigs and colored fabric, which hid a male dancer underneath. Kagba appeared primarily at funerals and initiations organized by the all-male Poro association. The last sculptures of this type were apparently created in the early 1960s, when local iconoclastic movements and the unrest triggered by Côte d’Ivoire’s struggle for independence led to the cessation of these practices.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Senufo
Title: Mask Head (Kagba or Navige)
Place: Korhogo, Département de (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1900–1950
Medium: Wood and pigment
Dimensions: 70 × 35 × 18 cm (27 1/2 × 13 3/4 × 7 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Anita Glaze
Reference Number: 2019.1195

Anita J. Glaze, from 1964 or 1965, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire, and later Illinois [documentation provided by the donor, copy in curatorial records]; given to the Art Institute, 2019.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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