Leather-Covered Corn Cob Doll

Published as item #504 in Thomas G. B. Wheelock’s Land of the Flying Masks: Art and Culture in Burkina Faso. Wheelock writes that “the leather covering is stained red on one side and black on the other. Lines of small black dots on the red field probably represent abdominal scarification. Decorated with interwoven bands and an elaborate necklace of long leather tabs and strands, the doll showcases typical Mossi leatherwork as seen on… scabbards.” A curl on the end of the top knot cord adds an extra note of sophistication. This is a top quality, well used, old and unusual Mossi doll. The opportunity to acquire a cob doll of this level of sophistication, with stellar provenance and age, comes but once.

7.5″