H x W x D: 71.8 × 29.8 × 17.8 cm (28 1/4 × 11 3/4 × 7 in.)
Type:
Mask
Geography:
Cameroon
Date:
Late 19th to early 20th century
Label Text:
In the kingdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields region, the buffalo was a symbol of power and bravery. Hunters had to give the king the heads of animals that they slew, and animal skulls were hung over doorways. Buffalo horns were made into prestige drinking vessels. In Bamum, masked processions were held at the start of the dry season in the Nja festival, a celebration of the literal renewing of the palace, restoring its roof and walls. Among the other animal, composite and human masks, the buffalo was worn by court retainers as a pledge of their willingness to protect the ruler.
An unusual and distinctive structural feature of crest masks of this type is the lack of attachment holes. Nineteenth century photographs show some of the dancers holding or balancing the crests on their heads.
While the carved buffalo masks are dramatic and important, beaded examples are truly spectacular. Locally imported glass beads were highly prized, with blue and red examples particularly associated both with age and royalty. The beads were attached to cloth; the earliest examples use raffia or other fiber, then a locally woven and dyed cotton, while modern examples use factory cloth.
Description:
Wooden horizontal crest mask in the form of a buffalo head, covered in glass beads sewn onto cloth. Beads are primarily blue tubular with red tubular inside the ears and nostrils; red and white seed beads form the eyes.
Provenance:
Sultan of Bamum, -- 1989
Omar Chinmoun, 1st Secretary to the Cameroon Embassy, 1989-2013
Robert E. Navin, Vienna, VA, 2013 -2014
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