Bambara mask of Korè, Surukuw - Lot 57

Bambara mask of Korè, Surukuw Mali Wood, metal 38 cm high Provenance : - Guy Monbarbon, Paris - Private collection Anthropo-zoomorphic mask featuring a stylized hyena head. Beneath a rounded forehead framed by a pair of erect ears, the eyes are quadrangular, the nose straight and the mouth zigzagged. Beautiful patina attests to the mask's age and prolonged use. This type of mask appeared during male initiation ceremonies. Initiation societies, notably the Ntomo and Korè, had considerable social and political importance. They organized rites of passage, the obligatory stage for a child to become a man. The Korè is the last and most important stage in the passage to adulthood.