Mask of the night society "troh" ·  Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke/Bangwa · ID: 3040485

Description

wood, slightly shiny dark brown patina, round bulging cheeks, open mouth with pointed teeth, pierced eyes with raised rim, enclosed by semicircular ears, min. dam., cracks, small missing parts, slight traces of abrasion;
according to Lintig the “troh” secret society is an inviolable institution, a kind of police society whose members are the kingmakers: only they are told the name of the successor to the chief, and during often turbulent interregnum they are responsible for keeping law and order.
On the other hand it is believed that this secret society has a direct relationship with the supernatural. The night masks are important magic instruments. Because of their dangerous potential their owners carry them on their shoulders and not on their heads. Many Bangwa believe that their chief and certain members of the secret society are capable of travelling across the night sky in form of their totem animal or appear in form of a thunderstorm and other natural phenomena.

L’objet Mask of the night society “troh” avec l’ID d’objet 3040485 a fait partie de la dernière vente aux enchères 83rd Tribal Art Auction dans 28 mai 2016 le Zemanek-Münster Hôtel des ventes. L’objet portant le numéro de lot 321 a atteint un prix de vente de 2 800 €.

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Expertise

Karl-Ferdinand Schädler, Munich, 7 May 2004

Littérature comparée

von Lintig, Bettina, Cameroun, Paris 2006, p. 96 ff.

Publications

Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Afrikanische Kunst, München 1997, p. 218, ill. 140

AHDRC: 0011062