African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask

Each discoid in plan and lentoid in section with central perforation and incised geometric ornament. 320 grams total, 50-54 mm



Ex private Oxford ethnographical collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Carved with scarification panels to the cheeks and forehead, protruding mouth with teeth, flat nose and a neck panel below the chin. 560 grams, 37.5 cm



From Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa. From the collection of the late Professor R M Hicks, OBE. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Pende masks are among the most dramatic works of all African art. There are two styles: the western one of the Kwilu with its mbuya mask characterized by a somber, gloomy expression, and the Kasai style that is more geometric and colorful. The Kwilu Pende are especially well known for their masks that were originally used for circumcision ceremonies but later became accessories for a type of popular theater. The minganji, or masks of power, represent the ancestors; the mbuya, or village masks, represent human types, such as the chief, the diviner, the epileptic with a twisted mouth, the madman or man in a trance, the widow, the lover, or the executioner.

Carved in the round with large discoid panel for the head with high-relief facial features; small body with arms spread, resting on a rectangular comb with six tines. 483 grams, 41.7 cm



From Southern Ghana, West Africa. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Fertility and children are the most frequent themes in the wooden sculptures of the Asante. The most numerous works are akua’ba fertility figures. The are dolls with disk-shaped heads embodying their concept of beauty and carried by women who want to become pregnant and to deliver a beautiful child.