Decorative Grassland Leopard skin Mask, Cameroon

This unusual Chokwe mask is probably Katoyo, representing non-Chokwe individuals. The deviation of the mask from the more common Chokwe masks is mainly because they represent Portugu...

Anang/Ibibio Ekpo cult Ancestor dance Mask , Anang/Ibibio People ,Nigeria Maud et René Garcia Paris-Harrie Heinemans Collection Museum Berg Dal-1984 Martin Lagrain AHDRC ao-...

Traditionally, Kifwebe masks were created and worn by members of the secret masking society, Bwadi Bwa Kifwebe, of the Luba and the Songye People living in the central part of the Co...

Bamileke Kuosi Elephant masks comprise cloth panels and hoods woven from plantain fiber over raffia. On this background glass beads are stitched in geometric patterns. The basic form depicts salient features of the elephant—a long trunk and large ears. The hood fits tightly over the masker's head, and two hanging panels, one behind and one in front, partially conceal the body. The front panel is the elephant trunk, and the two large, stiff circles hinged to either side of the head are its ears, which flap as the masker dances. While the mask symbolizes an elephant, the face is human. Eyeholes provide visibility, and a nose and mouth with teeth are normally present. The glass beads used on these earlier masks were nineteenth-century trade beads of Venetian or Czechoslovakian manufacture, used as well in exchange for slaves. Elephant mask costumes...

On offer is a rare large sized 'Singe' Monkey mask from the Bulu people of south central Cameroon. The Bulu are a sub-group of the Cameroon Fang, having originated from Gabon. This...

The African Kuba Bwoom tribal mask is the oldest known mask, the Kuba bwoom mask. The materials used for the realization of the Mask are: Wood, colors and vibrates plants, caures, beads, animal hair. In dance it expresses exuberance and joy. The style is similar to that of the middle Kasai. This mask is a helmet with animal hair, carved with a very wide forehead and hollow cheeks that are announced by motifs or dashes and beads. The mouth of the mask is very pronounced carved in wood and then applied on the mask. To distinguish the forehead in different areas are used black and white beads to draw attention to other aspects of the face such as the nose and chin. The entire edge of the chin is surrounded by beads of various colors. The person wearing the mask cannot look because there are no holes for the eyes present; the mask must create the feeling of being blind. Some masks similar to the bwoom mask include the funny mask, the ram mask and initiation masks such as Nnup. The real Kuba masks...

Kholuka Yaka Mask, DR Congo. Wood, basketry, textile, raffia. Typical African mask of the Yaka in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Kholuk...

This early twentieth-century mask, from the Chokwe culture in Angola, displays unusual features. Carved from a light wood and decorated with yellow pigments, this fine mask exhibits ...