Dogon Mask
Mali
Satimbe Mask
Carved wood, metal
19th century
Height: 39 in. (98 cm)
Ex collection Robert Duperrier (1917-1996), Paris
Ex collection Jean-Paul Chazal, Paris
Ex collection Nathalie Chaboche & Guy Porré, Brussels
Exhibitions:
Nantes, France: “Dégé l’héritage Dogon” Chapelle de l’Oratoire, 21 June-18 September 1995
Taipei, Taiwan: “Visions d’Afrique” National Museum of History, 6 December 2003 – 22 February 2004
New York, USA: “African masks” Barry Friedman and Robert Vallois Gallery, May-June 2007
Bordeaux, France: “Arts d’Afrique. Voir l’Invisible” Musée d’Aquitaine, 21 March-21 August 2011
Publications:
“Dege l’héritage dogon” text by Hélène Leloup Nantes: Musée des Beaux-Arts 1995:59 #96
“Arts d’Afrique. Voir l’Invisible” Musée d’Aquitaine Bordeaux/Hazan Paris 2011:46 cat.13
The satimbe mask is distinguished by the presence of a female figure surmounting the mask.
According to a Dogon myth, it was this female ancestor who taught men how to dance masks in order to give material support and to channel the nyama, the vital energy present in every living being.
The formal boldness in the stylization of forms and the architectural construction of the figure with raised arms are particularly noteworthy. The exaltation of feminity is evident in the sculptural quality of this archaic and refined mask.
