African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask

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.

Carved in the round with large almond-shaped eyes, cruciform channels to upper face and rear, pierced attachment peg beneath. 352 grams, 20.7 cm



From South Central Sulewesi. Ex private Surrey, UK, ethnographic collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Carved from light-coloured, lightweight wood in traditional form and dyed black; large, round head, with striated hairstyle to the centre, large eyes and three short lines representing the typical tribal scarification marks on the forehead; tapering body and stub arms, tiered base. 532 grams, 46.5 cm



From Ghana, West Africa. From the private collection of Mr N.J., Leicester, UK; acquired circa 2010. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.

Among the Ashanti people in Ghana, women hoping for offspring carry these ‘Akuaba dolls’ in their clothes. Traditionally, these ‘Akuaba’ have a large, round, flat head that is reminiscent of its origin as a representation of the moon goddess, which is associated with fertility. Once the ‘Akuaba’ figure has fulfilled its purpose, the mother of the desired child places it on her domestic altar, where it is worshipped in a shrine, or she passes it on to the next generation.