Male helmet mask "lipiko" (pl. "mapiko") · Mozambique, Makonde · ID: 3050902
Starting price
EUR 400
Estimated price
EUR 800
Provenance
Peter Loebarth, Hameln, GermanyHenning Schmejkal, Holle, Germany
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, Germany, 2 December 1996, lot 554
Werner Zintl, Worms, Germany
Size
H: 20 cm
H: 7.9 inch
Description
wood, pigments, human hair,
The genre of black helmet masks with strikingly large ears and pointed chins emerged around 1977 in postcolonial Mozambique.
The mask was intended as a harmless caricature of Makonde elders, featuring comically large ears, toothless mouths, and protruding chins. They were used in a “mapiko” performance called “nijale”, which consisted of three dances. (cf. AHDRC 0087005: A. Bortolot, 2009)