Staff crowning with four mask faces · Angola, Chokwe · ID: 3051120
not available anymore
Provenance
Erwin & Susanne Melchardt, Vienna, AustriaSize
H: 20,5 cm
H: 8.1 inch
Description
wood, surface treated with wax / oil, base
Artfully carved head piece of a sceptre or dignitary staff “mbweci”. Here in a rare version with four masked faces instead of just one head or Janus-shaped. Bastin commented on a staff crowning with five heads: “This sceptre may represent a chief’s lineage” (Bastin, 1982, p. 192, fig. 112).
The object Staff crowning with four mask faces with the object ID 3051120 was last part of the auction Auction 103 at November 16, 2024 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 395.
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.
Comparing literature
Bastin, Marie-Louise, La sculpture Tshokwe, Gossau 1982