Rare old dance mask "asu nkukh" · Gabon, Fang · ID: 3038283
Galerie Gerd Rosen, Berlin, Germany
Gerd Rosen became the pioneer dealer in “Nachkriegsavantgarde” German artists, when he opened his gallery on August 9th in 1945.
Aside of Modern Art he delt with African Art and made expo with catalogue on African Art in 1947: “Negerplastik” (Gerdt Kutscher).
Description
light wood, remains of black patina, cap-shaped, a large facial plane, high arching eyebrows in pokerwork, overlong narrow nose bridge, striking small eyes and mouth, flat quartered coiffure, cuff of grass fibre bunches at the lower rim, slightly dam., abrasion of paint (coiffure), plant fibres slightly brittle because of old age, metal base;
the large face with the heart-shaped deepened eye zone gives the mask a kind of “moon-like” look, which is why Perrois feels reminded of the “ngontang” mask type, which could be traced back far into times. Presumably even present mask originally was dyed with lime, which was cleaned according to the spirit of time. The specific hairstyle is proofed by travellers until the 1920’s.
The object Rare old dance mask “asu nkukh” with the object ID 3038283 was last part of the auction 79th Tribal Art Auction at March 21, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 357 achieved a sales price of EUR 9,000.
You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.
Expertise
Certificate by Louis Perrois, 16 janvier 2012; Certificat d'Analyse (C 14) 1211-OA-300R, by CIRAM, 16 janvier 2012, à Pessac
Comparing literature
Templin, Brigitte, Einblicke in den Bestand der Völkerkundesammlung der Hansestadt Lübeck, Lübeck 2011, p. 62
Exhibition
Galerie Gerd Rosen, Berlin, Germany