Dogon mask Mali - Lot 368

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Lot n° 368
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Estimation :
3000 - 4000 EUR
Dogon mask Mali - Lot 368
Dogon mask Mali Eroded wood Dimensions: H.: 29 cm - W.: 15 cm Provenance : Jean-Pierre Laprugne Collection, acquired thirty years ago by the current owner. Pierre Robin Collection The Walu mask, with its deeply gouged wood, evokes an organic and spiritual link with Dogon architecture, as Hans Guggenheim brilliantly observed in his article La technologie invisible (Hans Guggenheim, La technologie invisible, Revue Tiers Monde, Année 1978 pp. 171-177). The weathered, worn wood, with its angular shapes and pronounced, hollowed-out reliefs, seems to interact with the earthen and stone structures that characterize Dogon villages and landscapes. Like Dogon houses, which are born of the earth and blend seamlessly into their natural environment, Walu's spiky shape is marked by the passage of time and ritual use. The gullies of wood, patinated by centuries, recall the textured surfaces of troglodyte houses or thatched dwellings, where structures are in constant evolution, shaped by Dogon cosmogony and interaction with the landscape. In this comparison, the mask doesn't simply represent a ritual object; it embodies a sacred space, just like Dogon architecture, which is designed to manifest a cosmic order visible through materiality. The gullied wood, with its curves and cracks, reflects a Dogon philosophy of impermanence, transformation and harmony between the human, the spiritual and nature. The geometrically-shaped top of the Walu, which carries a strong symbolism, traditionally bears two skyward-pointing horns, evoking the ascent of one with divine and spiritual forces. Designed to ensure the continuity of spiritual equilibrium, the skyward-rising horns have disappeared here, but their past existence remains, thanks to the outgrowths at the top of the skull. Its role as intermediary between the human and spiritual worlds places it at the heart of initiatory transmission and funeral rites, notably during the Dama - the funeral and initiatory ceremonies that allow the souls of ancestors to reach the afterlife, while respecting cosmic laws and spiritual order. The beauty of its gullied wood, like the rocks of the cliffs, like the wrinkles of time past, enlivens the mask with a touching poetic presence.
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