Janusfaced helmet mask
Cameroon, Anyang
not available anymore
Provenance
Danielle Collobert (1940-78), Paris, France (French author, poet and journalist)Jacques Kerchache, Paris, France (1968)
Italian Collection
Size
H: 38 cm
H: 15.0 inch
Description
wood, animal skin, pigment, plant fibre, with dark-colored “male” face, with large open eyeholes and a light-colored “female” face with small “blocked” eyes with wooden inserts, large hole in the top of the head (may have held another head or feathered rods inserted for decorative purposes), slightly dam., minor tears/missing parts (wood and skin), base.
The fabrication of skin-covered masks is unique in Africa to the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and western Cameroon, where these objects are used by mask societies for funerals, ceremonies of state, entertainment, and victory celebrations.
Comparing literature
Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 228Publications
AHDRC: 0150577