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LOT 2356
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
BAMBARA TRIBE, EARLY-MID 20TH CENTURY A.D.
15 3/8 in. (1.77 kg, 39 cm).
Rectangular shaped mask with a wide mouth, a broad nose, wearing a helmet with two crescent-shaped horns and coated with possibly sacrificial material. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Mali, West Africa.
From a Glasgow ethnographical collection; formed 1940s-1950s.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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African Bronze Leopard Figure Pair
Edo Tribe, 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Two lost wax bronze cast decorated standing leopards. 943 grams total, 13.4-13.5 cm wide
From Benin. From the late Brian Morley collection, 1950s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The leopard is a motif that occurs throughout many of the Benin Bronzes as it is the animal who symbolises both the Oba (king) and justice. -
African Wooden Ancestor Figure
Bembe Tribe, 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
A hand-carved female figure standing on a base with a columnar body, displaying scarification to the front and side of the face. 960 grams, 36.3 cm
From Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa. From an old Bristol, UK, ethnographical collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
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African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Lega Warega Tribe, early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Lentoid in plan with vertical lug for the bose and slits for the eyes; applied hair strip to lower face. 158 grams, 22.5 cm
From Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa. From the Estate of Dr J Bynon; acquired 30 July 1911. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Most of Lega masks are sculptures of a human face that are rarely worn over the face and never for purposes of true transformation. The Lega masks can be assigned different uses and meanings depending on the context of the performance. In Bwami ceremonies, masks are attached to different parts of the body, fixed to hat, piled in stacks, hung on fences, held in the hand, dragged on the ground, and occasionally worn on the forehead with the beard draping over the face of the wearer or arranged on a miniature palisade. Participants in most rites display their masks as a group in conjunction with particular dance movements and aphorisms, which vary depending on the context in which they are used. Lega masks differ from those used in many other African masquerades in that while women do not own them, both men and women handle and present them in very similar performances. Masks are among the initiation objects displayed on the grave before being passed to new owners. They are usually passed from an uncle to a nephew.
