A fine and rare Ligbe triple-faced, Do Society, mask

of delicate proportions and hollowed form, exceptionally complex in conception with three central faces comprised of linear lips, pointed noses and heavy-lidded downcast eyes, the central nose leading to a medial ridge and the two foreheads with linear scarification beneath two arching horns at the crown, with open flanges at the side and the chin beneath in the form of a horizontal animal, possibly an antelope; '248'; blackened surface with areas of red, white and blue pigment.

Acquired from Stolper Galleries, Robert Stolper and Morton Lipkin, Amsterdam, April 12, 1967

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee Public Museum, Selections from The William W. Brill Colllection of African Art, May 5 - August 31, 1969 (see bibliography for additional venues)

The Brill Ligbe mask from the Bondoukou region is rare, consisting of three faces it evinces a multi-dimensional, surrealistic presence. For a closely related mask from the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts see Robbins and Nooter (1989: 108, figure 144).

Among the Islamic Mande peoples, face masks were used during performances of the Do society masquesrades. The Do society was an Islamicized institution which, like the Poro Society of the neighboring Senufo, served to preserve order, perform at public festivals, take part in major funerals, and protect the village from evil spirits. Performances coincided with Islamic festivals such as Ramadhan (Garrard in Barbier-Mueller 1993: 86).

Little information exists on the exact iconography of the Brill triple-faced mask. In his research among the Ligbe and Hwela in Bondoukou in 1967-68, Bravmann identified eight types of masks (Bravmann 1974: 147-172). In addition, Louis Tauxier, who was in Bondoukou from 1918-1920 describes a mask with two human faces, which could suggest a tradition that was no longer extant by the 1960's for a mask like the Brill mask offered here (Garrard in Barbier-Mueller 1993: 92).

This mask is a visual index of the concept of multiple vision, perhaps the ability to see into the spiritual realm, the past or future as well as the present.