Focus On: Fish Masks

This week I bring you art from the third floor of the Indiana University Art Museum, which houses the African, Pacific, and Greek and Roman galleries. To my mind it is the best, most extensive floor of the museum. And these masks, from Guinea-Bissau, are beyond fabulous:
(Mask in the Form of A Sawfish Head, Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau), and
(Mask in the Form of a Shark Head, Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau)

I don't know enough about African masks to really speak too intelligently about this, but I think it's safe to deduce that masks of fish had particular significance in Guinea-Bissau, as it is located directly on the coast and has island territories. Presumably fish, and the ocean, play an important role in their food/economy. Also (I read on the CIA website) that their dry season is especially bad, at least now, and insufficient water and forest fires are a problem. So it would seem that historically, the sea (and its inhabitants) would be of considerable importance.

What I like the most about these two masks are the sense of fun they express, and the cool use of materials. That is an ACTUAL sawfish snout in the sawfish mask, while the shark head is made of wood, covered with pigment. I like the way the raffia flows from both of them, almost like braids--it reminds me of waves or seaweed.