Origin: Bobo ethnic group, Burkina Faso, Hauts-Bassins region.

Dated: 2^nd half of 20^th century.

The mask shows a rooster - at the bottom shows the remains of a dancer's face shield made of plant fibres (sorrel, baobab bark). For Bobo, as for other peoples of West Africa, for the mask to be complete needs: a costume covering the dancer's body and a the facial piece, usually made of wood. The presented mask is a helmet type mask – covering the whole head and tied with fibre strings attached to the face part through small holes on its rim. Fibre costumes are hard to find in the antiquity circulation, due to their natural deterioration and little interest from collectors. The masks of the Bobo people are very distinctive due to their ornaments and colours and along with the Dogon masks, they are one of the most popular masks of the Sahel zone. It is relatively easy to buy them in artisans’ stores (shops with local art products), although it is becoming more and more difficult to buy a well-made mask. Many of them operate on the souvenir market, very often in a changed style, without fibres that are necessary for a dancer to dance in it.

Acquired by a collector in a craft store in Bobo-Dioulasso, capital of the Hauts-Bassins region, in 1990. 

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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".