Nafana Mask bedu

Nafana peoples, Bondoukou Region, northeastern Côte d’Ivoire or north-western Ghana

Early 20th century

Height: 275.5 cm

Wood, pigments

Standing an impressive 2.75 metres high, this Nafana mask was danced during the annual yam harvest festivals, and at the funerals of important people in the community. Its bright colours emphasise the beautiful geometric patterns that counterbalance each other throughout the piece, with reds responding to whites and circles to triangles.

Provenance

Vérité Family Collection, Paris

Publication(s)

Claude Vérité, Alain de Monbrison and Jacques Barrère, Vérité, une passion des cultures, Paris, 2008, (n.p.)

Exhibition(s)

2 June-4 July 2008, Paris, Neuflize OBC, Vérité, une passion des cultures