Elephant mask · Cameroon Grassfields, Babanki / Oku · ID: 3050430
Munich Private Collection
Description
wood,
Most elephant masks originate from the centres of Oku and the Babanki area. In the Oku Kingdom (Bamenda) they are called “ketam”.
Among the peoples of the Cameroon Grassfields, the elephant, like the leopard, is considered a royal symbol. The use of an elephant mask is therefore a special privilege reserved only for certain lineages (kinship groups).
Wherever the elephant masks appear, they perform as so-called leader masks and occupy the second most important position after the human “kam” mask. In keeping with their status, the mask dancers move with dignity and deliberation.
The object Elephant mask with the object ID 3050430 was last part of the auction 102nd Auction at April 13, 2024 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 34 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,000.
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.