Large African Gurunsi Burkina Faso Wood Carved Mask

A very engaging mask by the Chowke (Tchokwe) tribe of Southern and Central Africa who today reside primarily in Angola. This mask is intricately carved and is recognizable by the...

A wonderful, quite large and heavy, colorful Bedu plank mask by the Nafana (Senufo) tribe who reside in the central north-west of Ghana and the north-east of...

A beautiful, wonderfully crafted, alluring mask made for Japanese Noh theatre. This mask is handcrafted and carved from natural wood. Ko-omote translates as "little mask" or sometimes "small face." This particular delicate featured mask (her red lips really stand out) is used for main and sometimes secondary roles when the character is a young girl or, in some cases, a supernatural being. What is also interesting about this mask is the blackened teeth which centuries ago, was customary for Japanese women to paint their teeth black after they became married. We believe this mask dates from the mid-to early Showa period, perhaps Mejia. The mask was acquired from an antique mask...

A fantastic and somewhat playful mask by the Yup'ik (Yupik) aboriginal, indigenous people of South-Western & South Central Alaska. The Yup'ik people, who are related to the Inuit peoples, have a long history of ceremonial mask making. Yup'ik masks were originally and specifically designed by Shamans and made to be worn by these spiritual leaders in Winter tribal dances and sacred ceremonies. Traditionally, the masks were destroyed or discarded after use in these ceremonies. Very few of these masks survived. After Christian contact in the late 19th century, masked dancing was suppressed and the tradition all but died out. As more outsiders settled in Alaska at the turn of the century, masks were made by the Yup'ik people to sell or trade for necessary goods. It is likely that this mask was created some years later for this purpose. In the 20th century, Yup'ik mask had a profound influence on many renowned surrealist artists including, Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Leonora Carrington, Victor Brauner, and most notably Andre Breton who was an avid collector of Yup'ik masks. This fantastic anthropomorphic mask is carved of lighter wood, hand painted and decorated with pigment, and held together with natural fiber. The mask seems to represent some sort of smiling, benevolent spirit or character with its four eyes, bird beak, and cat-like ears. The mask is from a French collection. We were told that this mask, as well as others in the collection we have listed, was acquired originally in the 1950s-1960s in Alaska and the Yukon territory in Canada but as we have no way to verify or authenticate this. Please note we are listing the masks as decorative and not as actual tribal artifacts...

Early antique hand carved Toma or Landai mask from Guinea, Africa. “These brooding, often quite large, masks represent a forest spirit, Landai. Masks lik...

A Helmet Mask known as Bwoon from the Kuba Tribe in the Kasai region of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa circa mid-20th century. The carved wood mask was decorated with copper plates on the face, and lavished embellished with trade beads, raffia cloth with cowrie shells and hanging seed pods, fur possibly from monkey. The surface and the interior both display good patina indicates a native use (contact rubbing) and age. Bwoom is one of three types of royal Kuba masks...

This hand-carved wooden mask is from Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. It features bulging eyes and a mouth emphasised by a full set of teeth and small nose. These masks we...

Beautiful authentic Mask of the Mossi people Burkina-faso Early/mid 20th Century / African Art Length: 35 cm Beautiful patina of use (see detailed pictures ) A museum quality mask of the Mossi tribe Note : In the northern centre of Mossi coutry, convex African masks with a prominent central ridge are common. Geometric patterns with low kaolin residues are dug on the matte surface. Stylistic similarities are sometimes noted with the masks of the Dogon, a neighbouring people. Mossi masks...