Intuition Carved Wall Mask, Ghana Sese Wood, 45cm

A hand carved wooden wall mask in dark stained sese wood, 45cm tall, with closed eyes, a small carved head at the crown and patterned metal panels set into the brow and cheeks. The maker named it Intuition, for the kind of knowing that does not come through the eyes, and the carving is built around that idea. The eyelids are carved heavy and shut, the mouth is closed, and the whole face is long, narrow and still. In the maker's own words, when the eyes are silent, the spirit can see. What sets it apart from the gallery's other masks is the metal. Two triangles sit above the brows and two curved panels sit under the eyes, each worked with a fine pattern in gold and copper tones, and against the dark wood they catch the light while the carved face stays in shadow. If you want the same long face and carved crown without the metal, the Prosperity mask is the plainer sibling. If your wall is dark, the pale Enlightened One mask will stand out better. It is made to hang and suits a living room, an office, a hallway or a gallery wall, anywhere with enough plain space around it to be looked at properly. The maker gives the size as 45 by 15cm, about 18 by 6 inches. Every mask is carved by hand from a natural material, so the grain, the colour, the depth of the cut and the pattern on the metal differ from one piece to the next and yours will not match the photograph exactly. Dust it with a dry soft cloth, and keep it out of direct sun and away from damp, which move and split wood over time.