Large helmet-shaped buffalo mask "nya" · Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke area, Batcham or Baleng Region · ID: 3045407
not available anymore
Provenance
Pierre Harter, Paris, FranceMercedes & David Serra, Barcelona, Spain
Christie’s Paris, 23 June 2016, lot 258
Private Collection
Size
H: 79 cm
H: 31.1 inch
Description
wood pigment, rest., bands of cowry shells edging the rim of the neck, base
The buffalo as exclusive royal icon symbolizes force, courage and power.
Masks of this kind are used by the Bamileke “mapfeli” male secret society, whose traditional role is to open and close the biannual “ke” male initiation ceremony, a purification ceremony which also wards off evil forces.
The heavy mask with its long neck suggests that it was displayed, rather than worn.
Comparing literature
Kahan, Leonard et .al., A Cameroon World, New York 2007, p. 141
Publications
Pierre Harter, "Les masques dits 'batcham'", in: Arts d'Afrique Noire, No.3, 1972, p. 41, ill. 40; Pierre Harter, "Arts anciens du Cameroun", Arnouville, 1986, p. 44, ill. 29; David Serra, "Rites, Danses et Parures", Parcours des Mondes 2012, p. 30/31AHDRC: 0132936