1910s Abstract Sculptures

"Mossi Head dress Mas ceremonies Rep Upper Volta" is a wood sculpture that includes various other materials such as fabric, and fibers. An abstracted animal with a hump and a bird on it's back make up the top of the headdress. 27" x 6" x 1" The Mossi states were created about 1500 A.D., when bands of horsemen rode north from what is now northern Ghana into the basin of the Volta River and conquered several less powerful peoples, including Dogon, Lela, Nuna, and Kurumba. These were integrated into a new society call Mossi, with the invaders as chiefs and the conquered as commoners. The Mossi make both political art and spiritual art. Figures are used by the ruling class to validate political power, and masks are used by the conquered peoples to control the forces of nature. The several mask styles reflect the diversity of the population before the 15th century invasion. Long tall masks...

One needs to view this work as much as a sculpture as a utilitarian frame. Handmade Arts & Crafts channeled oak frame with chiseled relief farm animal decoration on each corner, pin and dovetail construction, artist cipher and date carved verso, 45"h x 31.5"w (outside), 37"h x 24"w (inside) Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington...