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Headpiece for Funerary Use

Dogon

Artwork Details

Headpiece for Funerary Use
1900-1983
Dogon
fiber, cowrie shell and human hair
9 15/16 in x 17 1/2 in (25.3 cm x 44.5 cm)
Gift of Meryl Pinsof-Platt
1983/1.97

Description

9/23/2004:
This headddress would, togther with other Dogon masks such as the Kanaga mask, have been used in dances. Its form represents the characteristic high-crested hair style of Fulani women, so by wearing this piece the dancer would imitate a woman of this ethnic group. (The Fulani, or Peul, are neighbors of the Dogon.)
(Source: Imperato 1978:91, and Ezra 1988:27)

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