Buffalo mask "nam gbalang" ·  Nigeria, Chamba · ID: 3036089

Description

heavy wood, blackish brown patina, encrustations with clay in some areas, of characteristic form, slightly dam., cracks (head, lower jaw), minor missing parts (rims of the snout), bigger missing parts backside at the rim, drilled holes broken out, base;
“nam gbalang” could be translated as something like “unruly thing of the bush”. Each mask has a personal name as well, the male ones (wich are red) being called “chief” something and the female ones (which are black) being called “mother” something. Both colours mean danger since red is associated with blood and black with night and witches. These masks have been made in the exact same form for a long time. They are danced during various ceremonies, e. g. funerals, passage rites, enthronization of a new king.

The object Buffalo mask “nam gbalang” with the object ID 3036089 was last part of the auction 76th tribal art auction at March 22, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 426 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,400.

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Comparing literature

Evers, Christophe, Art of the Upper Benue River, Brussels 2003, p. 26 Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, Munich 2009, p. 142