Male helmet mask "muti wa lipiko" ("head of the lipiko") ·  Mozambique (Northern) / Southern Tanzania, Mueada Plateau, Makonde · ID: 3048664

Description

light kapok wood, colour pigments, human hair, indigenous repair, missing parts, base

Impressive physiognomy with strongly undercut eyes and painted pupils. The face is covered with geometric scarifications.

Masked dancers “lipiko” (pl. “mapiko”) represent the spirits of deceased ancestors “midimu” (sing. “ndimu”) who have temporarily returned from the dead to attend the final celebrations of the initiation of boys and girls.

The object Male helmet mask “muti wa lipiko” (“head of the lipiko”) with the object ID 3048664 was part of the auction 98th Auction on March 26, 2022. The object with the lot number 342 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,600 with an asking price of EUR 2,000.

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Comparing literature

Phillips, Tom (Hg.), Afrika, Die Kunst eines Kontinents, Berlin 1996, p. 170