water buffalo mask

water buffalo mask, early-mid 1900s

Where object was made: Koudougou region, Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso)

Material/technique: pigment; carving; wood

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 65 x 18 x 22 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 25 9/16 x 7 1/16 x 8 11/16 in

Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. Kenneth Palmer

Accession number: 2007.2887

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
“Conversation IV: Construction/Destruction,” Nov-2008, Bertram Lyons
This water buffalo mask suffered from a prolonged infestation of powder post beetles in 1981. The beetles caused complete destruction of the mask’s snout, both sides of the face, back and sides. The mask was fumigated with methyl bromide in 1982 to exterminate the insects, but the losses (some of which are displayed here) on the mask were too severe to be restored.