Description

A Double Faced Kpelie Mask with Figure on Top. The kpelie mask is the prerogative of the Poro society, an organization based on age-grades that exert social and political control, conveys traditional knowledge, and fulfills religious functions amongst the Senufo. Carved from a single piece of wood, the kpelie mask typically displays encoded designs that depict feminine beauty. This is a gorgeous example of a Senufo Kpelie mask. Kpelie masks represent the Senufo people’s idea of the perfect feminine form. Though these mask are strictly owned and worn by males at funeral rituals, and at harvest festivals to thank their ancestors for a bountiful harvest.