Lot No. 32246, Fine African Tribal Art, Bamileke Face Mask (Cameroon Grasslands)

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Lot No. 32246, Fine African Tribal Art, Bamileke Face Mask (Cameroon Grasslands):
$20.50

Today you have a unique opportunity to own a part of an impressive collection of original African objects which is now being liquidated due to several unforeseen circumstances. Please check out all of our sales for other interesting pieces!This mask is being sold as part of a private collection of African tribal art and artifacts. It was part of a larger collection in 2005 which appraised for several million dollars and has since been divided. Much of this collection has since been sold privately or gifted to different institutional organizations. Objects that remain from this collection are of very good quality, and some have been recently exhibited and displayed to the public in Georgia. Although our valuation of this piece exceeds $400, we are selling this with . ALL offerS CONSIDERED -- Please use the \"Buy It Now\" feature to end this sale early before someone else offers! We have included high resolution photographs of the item so you can see in detail the fine art you are offerding on. As this is a liquidation, no refunds or exchanges are permitted.Item Number: 322446 Originates from: Cameroon GrasslandsMeasurements (inches): approximately 13\" tall x 8\" wide x 4.5\" deepMaterials/Comments: Carved, solid wood; beautiful shape. Very unique golden color. This mask was imported into the US between 1960 and 1980 by an avid collector of African artifacts. This is NOT recently made, less valuable \"tourist art\" that a lot of other sellers are advertising.Origin Tribe Information:

The northern part of Cameroon has been Islamized and has no sculpture; on the other hand, the savannas of the west, the Grassland, are composed of three ethnic groups with ancestors in common. There are the one million Bamileke spread over the southwestern plateaus, in communities that have from 50,000 to 100,000 people; the 500,000 Bamenda-Tikar in the north; and, finally, the Bamum in the northwest, with a population of 80,000. The Bamileke resisting slave raids with suicide or rebellion, contributed very little to the Black population of the New World. The artistic production of the people living in the Grassland of Cameroon is closely associated with royal and societal ceremonies. Large figures, thrones and prestige paraphernalia are used by the king to assert his power.

The Grassland was divided into ninety kingdoms governed by a king, the fon, supported by non-secret societies. In the past, he was believed to be endowed with supernatural powers that allowed him to change into an animal – an elephant, leopard, or buffalo. He ensured the protection of his people and guaranteed the fertility of the fields and the fecundity of the women. The fon was responsible for rituals of planting and harvesting, for the annual festival of the dry season, for the opening of the collective royal hunt, and for expeditions of war. The fon was appointed by his predecessor, who chose him from among his direct heirs, excluding the eldest. Art objects were symbols of position in the hierarchy; their number, the materials from which they were made, and their iconography changed progressively as one descended or ascended the social ladder. Competition among sculptors was often great, for the artist’s “office” was not hereditary. Sculpture’s goal was to commemorate and celebrate the royal ancestors of the present fon. In the fon’s palace, next to the ancestral figures and the masks, one would also find headdresses, beaded thrones, bracelets, necklaces, pipes, leopard skins, elephant tusks, swords, commanders’ sticks, fans, dishware, horns, and terracotta bowls.

In Bamileke (Mbalekeo, Mileke) territories, the fon entrusted the guardianship of the sculptures to certain members, for to spread around portions of the treasury was an insurance against the frequent fires. Masks that elicit fear and apprehension are the work of societies responsible for repression. In spite of the ethnic and stylistic variations found in the Grassland area, similar types of mask have been produced. All young boys belong to associations based on age classes, covering periods of five years each, focusing on military and technical apprenticeship. The various societies also had their masks; some of them, according the tradition, had been created and consecrated by the ancestors themselves, others inspired great fear, there were masks decorated with beads, copper, and cowrie shells. Most of the kingdoms used the buffalo, stag, elephant, birds masks, and masks presenting male and female human heads. They are usually worn during state ceremonies such as the funeral of an important dignitary, or during annual festivities. During these ceremonies, the leading dancer wears a n’kang mask which bears a false beard, a coiffure split in two symmetrical parts and is often covered in royal paraphernalia such as cowrie shells and beads. The n’kang mask is followed by other masks representing a woman, a man or an animal. The buffalo and elephant masks represented strength and power, and the spider mask, intelligence, but most of the meanings are now lost.