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LOT 2361
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
FANG TRIBE, EARLY-MID 20TH CENTURY A.D.
17 in. (764 grams, 43 cm).
A large carved mask with a white heart-shaped face and a decoration to the forehead. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom Cameroon, Central Africa.
From the collection of the late Professor R M Hicks, OBE.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The Fang used masks in their secret societies. Fang masks, such as those worn by itinerant troubadours and for hunting and punishing sorcerers, are painted white with facial features outlined in black. Typical are large, elongated masks and featuring a face that was usually heart-shaped with a long, fine nose. Apparently, it has been linked with the dead and ancestors, since white is their color. The ngontang dance society also used white masks, sometimes in the form of a four-sided helmet-mask with bulging forehead and eyebrows in heart-shaped arcs.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Baule Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
A carved mask with crested horns and decorated in tones of white, red and blue. 620 grams, 39.4 cm
From Ivory Coast, West Africa. From an old Derby, UK, collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The Baule people is one of the largest ethnic groups in the Côte d'Ivoire. Wooden masks allow a closer contact with the supernatural world and correspond to several types of dances: the gba gba, the bonu amuen, the mblo and the goli. They never represent the ancestors and are always worn by men. -
African Wooden Ceremonial Crocodile Face Mask
Bobo Tribe, mid-late 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
A simplified crocodile head, painted red and black, rough shaped eyes and pegged teeth. 870 grams, face long: 33 cm
From Mali, West Africa. From the estate of a West Sussex, UK, collector. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
The masks symbolize animals or spirits and are worn during ceremonies associated with new crops, initiations and funerals. Ones with an interior cavity too small for a human head are carried on the top corner of a rectangular, tent like costume. -
African Wooden Fertility Figure
Bamileke Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Carved in the round naked female with knees flexed standing on a grotesque male head. 1.43 kg, 65 cm
From Cameroon, Central Africa. From the estate of Dr J Bynon. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
This is a carved wooden tribal figure, part of the door frame of the Chief's house, from the Bamileke tribe. A large number of prestigious items of paraphernalia were produced within the Grassland area, including large house-posts, door and window frames carved with human and animal figures, thrones, stools and tables decorated with small heads and figures, large bowls, carved horns for royal feasts, anthropomorphic terracotta and bronze pipes.
