Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

unknown African mask. There are several definite visual correlations between this mask and some of the
Bamana attributed masks in the Kathy Bulucous collection (see figures 24-26). All Banana attributed masks
in this collection have been carved from wood that has been rendered in clean geometric forms. There is a
distinctive triangular pattern repeated on the forehead regions of figure 24 and figure 26 that closely
resembles the triangles on the unknown mask. The facial plane is rendered smoothly. The eyes are small,
geometric, and closely set.
Both figure 25 and figure 26 have recessed ledges that define the facial plane, just as the unknown
mask has. While these masks are admittedly more self-contained – there are no dangling cylindrical
protrusions to be found – there are enough stylistic parallels to indicate more than a coincidental
connection between these masks.
Figure 24, Bamana Mask
Figure 25, Bamana Mask
Figure 26, Bamana Mask
After completing this body of research in the Winter of 2009-2010, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend
a term abroad in West Africa. While in Accra, Ghana, I encountered a mask (see figure 27) that I was told was made by
the Dogon, a people that live in Mali. My original Bamana attrbution is actually strengthened by this information, as
the masks both bear the striking cylindrical protrusions that are so unusual, and as the Bamana were also a people of the
region that is now Mali. The Bamana kingdom dissipated near the end of the 19 th century and was assimilated into a
broader Mende-speaking cultural group, of which the Dogon are also part of. Then, in Senegal, I encountered another
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