Elephant mask "ntshen" · Cameroon Grassfields, Babanki · ID: 3048368
sold
EUR 2,000
Provenance
probably Gottfried Künzi (1920-1979), Oberdorf / Solothurn SwitzerlandMartin Gross (1922-2017), Biel, Switzerland (1968)
Size
L: 79 cm
L: 31.1 inch
Description
wood,
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.
Comparing literature
Northern, Tamara, The Art of Cameroon, Washington D.C. 1984, p. 157, ill. 89