Mende Women's Helmet Mask

This helmet mask created by the Mende people of Sierra Leone was made for the women of their tribe to wear while dancing. Commissioned by women for their ...

During their five hundred year history in the Southern Congo, the Basuku tribe developed a series of intricate rituals built around their skilled mask makers. This particular example was most likely carved in the likeness of a deceased chieftain. The artisan intentionally pronounced the eyes, cheeks, and chin to provide a terrifying test for young men as they underwent their rites for manhood. The Basuku's spiritual expressions inspired early 20th century western painters...

Attributed to the Yoruba people of western Nigeria, this wooden headdress was worn during a masquerade known as egungun. A widespread Yoruba ritual, egungun performances honor a comm...

To relieve stress and uplift their Community, the Baule people of modern-day Côte d'Ivoire engage in a daylong masquerade known as the Mblo. A series of dances that escalate in compl...

Masks from the Pende people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are considered some of the most dramatic works of African art. The Pende have defined an extensive range of mask forms, many with distinct characters embodied during ritual ceremony. Colored by red and white pigments, this Pende mask...

Light masks like these represented the spirit of an ancestor and were used for social control by Ngil, the judiciary association. The facial markings, abstract features and strong, e...

Intriguing good looking mask artistically made of combination of hand crafted beads ,shells , and hand painted wood. To make such a exceptional object of art for display. Custom-mad...

Carved grotesque wood mask with pierced eyes, very hooked nose, cigar between very crooked bone teeth. Label on verso reads, “Willi Huggler (Swiss, 1925-2016), Holzschnitzereien, Bri...

Beautiful classic Chokwe mask genre that honours female founding ancestors. Such representations are particularly significant as the Chokwe trace the descent through the lines of their mothers. This is thought to be a dance mask with a net and wood hairstyle, from the Batshokwe people skilled in the art of carving and of very ancient origin belonging to the culture of the divine monarchy. The Batshokwe sculptors were the most famous in the region, masters in geometric decorations such as the depiction of scarifications and tooth deformations, the surfaces of their works were carefully smoothed and polished. On the forehead of the mask, the classic chinge-lyengelye scarification is clearly visible, commonly interpreted as a variant of the Portuguese cross...

Exceptional hand carved wood mask hand painted, made of single piece of wood and was made for decorative purpose. Very intriguing and mysterious ...

Exceptional artistically hand carved wood mask hand painted made of single piece of wood and was made for decorative purpose. Very intriguing and...

Exceptional hand carved wood mask with graphic elements, made of a single piece of wood and was made for decorative purposes. Very intriguing and...