Bidjogo Crest Mask, Guinea-Bisseau Wood, cloth, horns, pigments, anointing material H. 23 cm - L. 31 cm Provenance : Paul and Jacqueline Canfère collection acquired from Jean-Michel Huguenin (according to oral information from descendants). The bidjogo live in the Bissagos archipelago, off the coast of Guinea-Bissau. In a realistic style, they create zoomorphic masks, each indicating the social status of the wearer. Among the most widespread masks, danced during ritual ceremonies by men and young boys, are the buffalo masks. The dung'be, representing the domestic ox, embodied and symbolized the full possession of the physical strength of the young man wearing it at the time of initiation or at its end. The stocky, flattened, imposing head, with two real horns, the circular, small ball-shaped eyes positioned almost at right angles to each other, accentuate the intensity of the gaze with a wider field. The wide open rectangular mouth. The position of the high horns curved towards the viewer, and the face slightly bent forward animate the face of vitality, as if the animal represented was ready to pounce. The whole is covered with a thick crusty material composed of earthy substance and vegetable fibers.