AFRICAN TOMA / LOMA LANDAI HORNED MASK LIBERIA

Description

AFRICAN ANTIQUE TOMA / LOMA LANDAI HORNED MASK LIBERIA
TOMA
LANDAI
SPIRIT MASK
Toma craftsmen create large wooden masks representing
Landai,
a forest spirit, used by the men's Poro Society to initiate boys into manhood. The masks would symbolically devour the youthful initiate, who would then emerge as a man. The masks were carved with flat, stylized anthropomorphic features surmounted by horns.
Creators
: Toma or Loma
Source
: Liberia and Guinea
Material
: Wood
Condition
: Native repair, stable cracks, wear and erosion commensurate with age and use
Dimensions
: 32” tall/high x 11” wide x 7.5” deep approximately