Very rare helmet mask "a-rong-a-thoma" ("araung etoma" or "athoma") ·  Sierra Leone, Temne · ID: 3047015

Description

wood, pigments, rest.

“A-rong-a-thoma” masks were made exclusively by the Temne living in the town of Yele in Central Sierra Leone.

The masking tradition was owned exclusively by the Kanu royal family in Yele and was the responsibility of the ritual kingmaking association, “ragbenle”, an association whose membership was restricted to paramount chiefs and their advisors.

It appears annually in Yele at the beginning of the dry season and at other important ceremonial occasions such as the coronation of a paramount chief. It always seems to be danced in pairs.

The object Very rare helmet mask “a-rong-a-thoma” (“araung etoma” or “athoma”) with the object ID 3047015 was part of the auction 95th Tribal Art Auction on October 24, 2020. The object with the lot number 124 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,800 with an asking price of EUR 2,000.

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.