This Dogon mask is notable for its remarkably rigorous and architectural form.
This style of mask is known as dege, the name for a black monkey, a creature noted for its unpredictability, gluttony, and general villainy. The dege mask appears in an “obscene or comic performance” which illustrates these character traits (Richards, “What’s in a Dogon Mask”, Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics, Nos. 49 & 50, 2006, p. 108).
Object: Monkey mask
Ethnic group/ culture: Dogon
Region/ country: Mali
Period: Second half 20th century
Condition: Good
Sold with stand: No
Dimensions: 48×18×12 cm
Weight: 1100 g