H x W x D: 47 x 36.5 x 27 cm (18 1/2 x 14 3/8 x 10 5/8 in.)
Type:
Mask
Geography:
Grassfields region, Cameroon
Date:
Late 19th-early 20th century
Label Text:
This beaded mask from the Grassfields region of Cameroon has exceptional visual power. The fact that it is beaded indicates that it is a high prestige mask, possibly associated with royal masquerades. From an aesthetic standpoint, it is a dazzling example of the region's beaded art forms, with its strong blue and white zigzag composition animating the front and sides of the mask, and the larger red tubular beads making a powerful visual statement on the back. The wood-carved mask beneath the beadwork is equally strong, dominated by high-arching recessed brows, full cheeks, broad nose and gaping maw revealing sharply pointed teeth. While the power is obvious, the identification of the animal portrayed is not - the mask has been described as a leopard, a monkey or an elephant and may be a composite.
It was collected in the field by Pierre Harter, a physician who worked in the Grassfields and devoted himself to researching the region's works of art. Its early provenance is established in Harter's 1972 publication, which illustrates the mask and notes that he and his research team saw the mask in Bagam in 1969. Harter likely collected the mask shortly thereafter.
Description:
Beaded wood crest mask depicting an animal with a gaping maw revealing sharply projecting wooden teeth, conical-shaped eyes, swelling cheeks and two raised lobes suggesting its prominent brow. Small ears protrude from the sides. The nose has rectangular-shaped nostrils trimmed in blue beads. Along the front and sides, the mask is covered primarily with blue and white glass beads arranged in horizontal registers forming zigzag patterns. The back of the mask is ornamented with red tubular beads. The beads are attached to a woven fiber substrate that is affixed to the mask's wooden interior. The cloth is visible through the mask's nostrils and in sections of the mask where the beaded strands are missing or have loosened. Three original outer teeth are extant, but the missing teeth have been replaced in the form of a separate wooden plate carved with long, sharp teeth that is attached to the top and bottom of the open mouth.
Provenance:
Bernard Dulon, Paris, 2006
Private collection, Brussels, ca. 1986 to 2006
Emile Deletaille, Brussels, -- to ca. 1986
Pierre Harter collection, Paris, collected in Cameroon, ca. 1969-1970
Exhibition History:
Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009-July 25, 2010
Published References:
Galerie Bernard Dulon. 2006. Cameroun. Paris, pp. 150-153.
Harter, Pierre. 1972. "Les masques dit 'batcham'." Arts d'Afrique Noire 3 (18-45), p. 39, no. 39.
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