Ape mask "n'gon" ·  Mali, Bamana · ID: 3036793

Description

wood, dark brown patina, remians of pigments, of oval form with open mouth and visible teeth, pierced around the rim, cracks, traces of insect caused damage, abrasion;
zoomorphic mask types illustrate the dicscourse of man with his own animalistic qualities. Aside of the important hyaena mask “suruku” there are hybrid forms, lion and monkey masks “n’gon”, like the present one.

The object Ape mask “n’gon” with the object ID 3036793 was last part of the auction 77th tribal art auction at June 28, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 136 achieved a sales price of EUR 375.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.

Comparing literature

Colleyn, Jean Paul (Hg.), Bamana, Zürich 2001, p. 109