Origin: Africa

Local name:
MŻo/A/3600: anthropomorphic
MŻo/A/3601: anthropomorphic, "pygmy"

Dating:
MŻo/A/3600: 1990s.
MŻo/A/3601: 1990s

Dimensions:
MŻo/A/3600: height 82.0 cm, width 30.5 cm, depth 12.0 cm
MŻo/A/3596: height 27.0 cm, width 21.0 cm, depth 13.0 cm

Made of: wood

Techniques: sculpting

Obtained from:
MŻo/A/3600: Jacek Łapott, craft and art shop, Kampala (Uganda), 2007.
MŻo/A/3601: Jacek Łapott, craft and art shop, Douala (Cameroon), 2005.

Description:

The African mask is an important element of religious ceremonies, its main mission is to present mythical events (e.g. creation) and present their main deities, that is, to facilitate contacts (communion) between man and the sacred [Holas 1969: 118]. Followers of traditional religions believe that dancers wearing masks (i.e. wooden facial parts and clothes) are inhabited by "spirits" or "deities". Thus, they become "sacred beings", intermediaries between gods, ancestors and people. In traditional society, the mask is a religious institution, but also a political and social one. It interferes in political decisions, accompanies a person throughout life from birth to death, during ceremonies and in everyday work (sowing, harvesting), punishing the guilty, and oversees the transmission of knowledge. During the colonial era, missionaries sometimes burned masks to curb their worship.

At the end of the 20th century, with the departure from traditional religions in favor of Christianity or Islam, and primarily due to the development of mass tourism, another function of the mask appeared - it became a souvenir from exotic travels. Masks and sculptures dominate the souvenir market in Africa. In its Francophone part, the term artisana appeared, meaning a souvenir stall.

Artisan art" responds vividly to the needs of the market, if the seller notices that customers are asking about a specific object, the market will quickly be flooded with similar products. K. Podyma believes that "the new profession of an antiquarian has, in its own way, revolutionized the local market. It is the intermediary-antiquarian who has become the factor who researches the market, responds to its needs, and finally sets the directions of development” [2011].

Observing the trade that takes place in craft and art shops between antique dealers and tourists, it is easy to notice that the former do not provide true information. The primary issue seems to be setting a favorable (high) price and not answering the questions asked by the tourist. Most often, the person asking is told "it's a beautiful, old thing and you have to buy it." After making a purchase, an inquisitive tourist tries to verify the information obtained from the seller. Then it often turns out that the purchased object is neither old nor original, often sloppily made and excessively expensive. This is most often done by beginner traders who want to make quick money" [Buchalik 2011: 278].

An interesting example of contemporary souvenir masks are masks made in the Luba style. The image of one of Luba's masks was the logo of the Brussels "exotic" art fair BRUNEAF. Souvenirs - both masks and sculptures - made in characteristic styles, considered by tourists to be "typically African", are bought in various parts of Africa. It does not matter where a particular people actually lives. For the buyer, what matters most is the aesthetics and the story associated with the mask.

The presented mask (MŻo/A/3601) was called "pygmy" by the sellers, as Pygmies are associated with central Africa, where the Luba live. The artists of this people created many objects related to the activities of the royal court. Objects that added splendor were most often decorated with female figurines, ubiquitous in Luba art. Because the Luba empire spans a vast territory, there are many stylistic variations. Luba masks are rare, found mainly in the eastern Luba kingdoms. Some are very similar to the kifwebe masks used by the Songye, although their decorations are more rounded [Bacquart 2010: 156].

You might ask: what examples of souvenir art are doing in a museum? The answer is very simple. One of the tasks of ethnographic museums is to illustrate the changes taking place. In this case, the mask transitions from the sacred to the profane. The techniques of making souvenirs are also changing. At the beginning of the 21st century, they were still made using chisels, knives, etc. Twenty years later, drills, probably dental ones, came into use. It is difficult to say at this point how souvenirs will be made in the next generation. The objects collected from the museum constitute an evolutionary sequence of ongoing changes that will be supplemented by future generations of museum workers.

Bibliography:

Bacquart Jean-Baptiste, 2010, The Tribal Arts of Africa, London: Thames&Hudson.

Buchalik Lucjan, 2011, Dogon ya gali. Dawny świat Dogonów, Żory: Muzeum Miejskie.

Holas Bohumil, 1969, Masques ivoiriens, Paris: CSH.

Podyma Katarzyna, 2011, Sztuka bogactwem Afryki?, [typescript]. 

Edited by Lucjan Buchalik

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The purchase is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport as part of the National Institute of Museums and Collections' own program "Expansion of museum collections".