Italy - Masks

The African Kuba Bwoom tribal mask is the oldest known mask, the Kuba bwoom mask. The materials used for the realization of the Mask are: Wood, colors and vibrates plants, caures, beads, animal hair. In dance it expresses exuberance and joy. The style is similar to that of the middle Kasai. This mask is a helmet with animal hair, carved with a very wide forehead and hollow cheeks that are announced by motifs or dashes and beads. The mouth of the mask is very pronounced carved in wood and then applied on the mask. To distinguish the forehead in different areas are used black and white beads to draw attention to other aspects of the face such as the nose and chin. The entire edge of the chin is surrounded by beads of various colors. The person wearing the mask cannot look because there are no holes for the eyes present; the mask must create the feeling of being blind. Some masks similar to the bwoom mask include the funny mask, the ram mask and initiation masks such as Nnup. The real Kuba masks...

Pair of masks, faces of women and men, sculpted in terracotta by Roberto Rigon in the 1960s. The masks represent a Man and a Woman, both sculpted by t...

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...

Single African mask created by artist Bomber Bax. The mask dates back to the early 1900s and was subsequently processed and painted in late 2022 by the artist. The artist used spec...

Contemporary African single mask created by the artist Bomber Bax. The mask dates back to the early 1900s and was subsequently processed and painted in late 2022 by the artist. The...

Eccentric African mask and unique piece created by artist Bomber Bax. Rare and unique piece made by the artist. The mask dates back to the early 1900s and was processed and painted i...