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LOT 2330
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
LEGA WAREGA TRIBE, EARLY 20TH CENTURY A.D.
8 7/8 in. (158 grams, 22.5 cm).
Lentoid in plan with vertical lug for the bose and slits for the eyes; applied hair strip to lower face. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Senufo Tribe, early-mid 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Carved with a narrow face, narrow protruding sharp nose, slit eyes with some decoration, a closed mouth with protruding lips, bead and cowrie shell decoration to one ear and a bird's neck and head sculpture to the top of the mask. 1.12 kg, 36.5 cm
From Burkina Faso, West Africa. From a Glasgow ethnographical collection; formed 1940s-1950s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
Ashanti Tribe, 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
A carved tribal mask with copper to the face and back of the head, a single horn to the top of the head and stylised legs. 484 grams, 47.5 cm
From Ghana, West Africa. From an old Surrey, UK, oriental and ethnographical collection; acquired during 1950s. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
African Wooden Comb Fertility Figure
Asante Tribe, 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
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.
