id:			171268
accession number:	2014.1
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2014.1
updated:		2022-09-10 11:54:14.397000

Mask (wan-balinga), early 1900s. Africa, West Africa, Burkina Faso, Mossi-style blacksmith-carver. Wood and paint; overall: 34 x 14 x 14 cm (13 3/8 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2014.1

title:				Mask (wan-balinga)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			early 1900s
creation date earliest:		1900
creation date latest:		1925
current location:		108A Sub-Saharan
creditline:			Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Burkina Faso, Mossi-style blacksmith-carver
technique:	Wood and paint
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Mask
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 34 x 14 x 14 cm (13 3/8 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Charles Ratton, Paris, France
	date: before 1967
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Evelyn Annenberg Hall & William Jaffe, New York, NY
	date: 1967–?
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Galerie Jacques Germain, Montreal, Canada
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Galerie Jacques Germain, Montreal, Canada, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: ?–2014
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2014–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
This mask was worn and danced upon the death of an elder, escorting the corpse to the grave.

digital description: 
Only the farmers among the Mossi people employ masks. This mask’s proper name, <em>wan-balinga</em>, evokes a mythical figure who was the mother of the first Mossi ruler. Such masks are most typically worn and danced with on the occasion of the funeral of a male or female elder as escorts of the corpse to the grave. They also appear during annual memorial services that occur months after the actual burial, when all the deceased clan members are commemorated and honored.

wall description: 
Only the farmers among the Mossi people employ masks. This mask’s proper name, <em>wan-balinga</em>, evokes a mythical figure who was the mother of the first Mossi ruler. Such masks are most typically worn and danced with on the occasion of the funeral of a male or female elder as escorts of the corpse to the grave. They also appear during annual memorial services that occur months after the actual burial, when all the deceased clan members are commemorated and honored.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2014.1/2014.1_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2014.1/2014.1_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2014.1/2014.1_full.tif