Blue duiker skin, wood, plant fiber, teeth, pigment, metal
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 26.5 x 11.8 x 15.6 cm (10 7/16 x 4 5/8 x 6 1/8 in.)
Type:
Mask
Geography:
Cross River-upper region, Cameroon
Date:
Late 19th-early 20th century
Label Text:
Skin-covered wooden masks are created only in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. The figure on this crest mask depicts a woman with body painting.
Description:
Seated female leather covered figure with movable arms atop a cone on basketry flange forming a headdress cap. The hands are parallel to the ground, with reverse bent elbows that are even with the shoulders. Metal is inset in the eyes and open mouth. Linear painted patterns are on the arms and legs, and lozenges on the torso.
Provenance:
Graf von Pückler-Limburg, Germany, 1903
Linden Museum, Stuttgart, 1903 to 1964
Bretschneider collection, Munich, 1964 to 1976
Arcade Gallery, London, 1976
Tom Phillips, London, 1976 to 1997
Kevin Conru, London, 1997 to 1998
Exhibition History:
Recent Acquisitions 2000, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 13, 1999-January 24, 2000
African Sculpture from Private Collections in London: An Exhibition Selected by Ian Auld and Tom Phillips, South London Art Gallery, London, October 19-8 November 8, 1979
Published References:
Auld, Ian and Tom Phillips. 1979. African Sculpture from Private Collections in London: An Exhibition Selected by Ian Auld and Tom Phillips, 19 October to 8 November 1979. London: South London Art Gallery, no. 133.
Owczarek, Nina. 2014. "Skin-Covered Masks from the Cross River Region of Nigeria and Cameroon at the National Museum of African Art: A Technical Study." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 53 (3), pp. 193-194, no. 13, 19, 21 (details).
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