Snake with Two Heads

Gan people, or Lobi people, Burkina Faso, African

19th or early 20th century

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Female figure
Small earthenware ankh covered with a bright turquoise glaze.
Standing couple embracing
Face mask with rabbit features. Narrow vertical oval ears painted red with white interiors; protruding conical black eyes surrounded by concentric black rings with white pigment in-between; protruding open triangular mouth/snout, painted black, adorned with small incised triangles painted white and red. Oval perimeter of back of mask pierced with multiple holes to enable attachment of mask to dancer's head as well as attachment of fiber costume. This type of mask is worn by men during funeral or initiation ceremonies. Animal masks commemorate encounters that people have had with ancestors who appeared in the form of an animal.