Senufo chimera mask

Komo chimeric mask (Segu region, Mali)

In the first quarter of the 14th century, a part of the population of the Mali empire refused to embrace Islam and became considered infidels (bambara, in the ancient Mande language). To defend themselves against the attacks of the followers of the Muslim emperor, the Bambara created the Komo society, a secret sect dedicated to preserving and developing pre-Islamic cosmology in the Niger bend. ​
One of the objects closely associated with this society is the chimerical mask known as Kono or the knowledge of the soul, which features a domed face, gazelle and rhinoceros horns, warthog fangs, monkey ears and a very long toothed snout. The specimen we have at Black Market also has a front feathered mirror in which other members of the Komo society can look at themselves.

Height: 62.0 cm; Width: 22.0cm; Weight: 1.10 Kg