Items Similar to Ethnic Design-Very early Bamileke Elephant Mask embroided with trade beads.
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Ethnic Design-Very early Bamileke Elephant Mask embroided with trade beads.
$6,522.98
£4,902.64
€5,500
CA$9,037.69
A$9,823.61
CHF 5,258.74
MX$118,744.70
NOK 66,270.34
SEK 61,118.46
DKK 41,897.74
About the Item
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 were thus called "things of money" since their beads were both objects and symbols of wealth (Brain and Pollock 1971:100; Northern 1975:17-21). This mask may sparsely beaded with old white beads. The members of the Kuosi regulatory society belonged to the royal court and enforced the laws of the kingdom in all spheres of life. The society gathered together during funeral ceremonies of its members and for public celebrations of kingship to display the kingdom's power and wealth.Source: Sign of the Leopard - Beaded Art of Cameroon
Provenance: Belgian Private Collection
- Dimensions:Height: 20.87 in (53 cm)Width: 16.93 in (43 cm)Depth: 7.09 in (18 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:-
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses.
- Seller Location:Leuven , BE
- Reference Number:Seller: 140101stDibs: LU3301138470172
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