Mitshogo helmet mask, Gabon, c. 1960

Mitsogho helmet mask, Gabon, c. 1960. For the Mitsogho and Bwete society, the mask has a double function. It is a sacred object reserved for initiates and only at night. The same mask appears during the day for everyone, assuming an ambiguous role: it still arouses fear but also becomes a pretext for a game. Used during the nocturnal ceremonies of the Bwété initiation society, these masks are ritual objects, hidden from the sight of non-initiates. Height: 38 cm Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p.- 212
 
Exhibitions:
2022-2024 Island of Fuerteventura “Art Africa: Ancestral Light”. Lighthouse of the Entallada. Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
2021-2022 Panama City. Government of Panama. “Art Africa: the spirit of the ancestors”. Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Casco Viejo.
2019-2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent”. Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo.
2013-2015 Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (Madao). La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia.
2005 “Black Africa”, Leather Museum.
2004 “Black Africa”. Caixa Laietana Foundation, Barcelona. Main exhibition hall