African Mask
For other tribal masks, see Tribal Oceania.
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Tropical Africa Congo Gabon
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Tropical Africa Congo Gabon
Baga Shoulder Mask
2021 SOLD for € 4.7M by Christie's
Made in Guinea, the Baga headdress is the most colossal African dance mask, measuring about 1.30 m high and weighing in the region of 60 Kg. Designed to be placed on the shoulders, it has the shape of the monumental bust of a woman. The holes for the eyes are opened between the breasts. A textile skirt clung to the foot rings is still increasing the weight of this equipment that can only be danced by a strong man, as observed by a visitor during a ceremony in 1886.
Locally named D'mba by the Baga and Nimba (great spirit) by their neighbours who transmitted the latter wording to the Europeans, they accompany weddings and harvests as a symbol of agrarian and human fertility. The head shape is very specific with a long chin and a strong nose. The full breasts are fitted with big cylindrical nipples.
This design was executed over centuries from single wood blocks altered by plant juice or dark soil. It was described as early as 1615 CE by a Portuguese explorer, soon after the Baga were rebuilding their civilization and myths after being chased by hostile tribes from their native Fouta Djallon to the Guinean coast.
Picasso was fascinated by one of these masks that he owned. His appeal from Marie-Thérèse Walter viewed at random in a Parisian street is due to the protruding nose of the young blonde who unwittingly demonstrated to him that the feminine ideal can be multi-racial. Pablo exploited this idea in his first sculpted busts of his muse.
The D'mba mask remains a centerpiece of Guinean folklore. In February 2015, the Baga community made a request for it to be listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.
The mask from the Périnet collection was sold for € 4.7M by Christie's on June 23, 2021, lot 17.
The mask from the Vérité collection was sold for € 2.25M by Enchères Rive Gauche on June 17, 2006 and for € 2.4M by Christie's in Paris on June 23, 2015, lot 42.
Locally named D'mba by the Baga and Nimba (great spirit) by their neighbours who transmitted the latter wording to the Europeans, they accompany weddings and harvests as a symbol of agrarian and human fertility. The head shape is very specific with a long chin and a strong nose. The full breasts are fitted with big cylindrical nipples.
This design was executed over centuries from single wood blocks altered by plant juice or dark soil. It was described as early as 1615 CE by a Portuguese explorer, soon after the Baga were rebuilding their civilization and myths after being chased by hostile tribes from their native Fouta Djallon to the Guinean coast.
Picasso was fascinated by one of these masks that he owned. His appeal from Marie-Thérèse Walter viewed at random in a Parisian street is due to the protruding nose of the young blonde who unwittingly demonstrated to him that the feminine ideal can be multi-racial. Pablo exploited this idea in his first sculpted busts of his muse.
The D'mba mask remains a centerpiece of Guinean folklore. In February 2015, the Baga community made a request for it to be listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.
The mask from the Périnet collection was sold for € 4.7M by Christie's on June 23, 2021, lot 17.
The mask from the Vérité collection was sold for € 2.25M by Enchères Rive Gauche on June 17, 2006 and for € 2.4M by Christie's in Paris on June 23, 2015, lot 42.
Kota Head Mask
2021 SOLD for € 3.26M by Christie's
Tribal migration is changing the cultural practices. About 300 years ago, some Bantu groups are pushed by their enemies into the rainforest. The Kota then settle in the valley of the Ogooué river in current day Gabon
At the boundary of Gabon, Cameroun and the current Congos, magic and funerary practices have generated masterpieces. In their search for perfect beauty, Kota and Kwele artists sought to express a relationship with the afterlife.
The Emboli mask is a spirit of the forest used in the initiation of the boys, including circumcision. It appears as an amplified human head with some features of the dominant male animals of the equatorial forest such as the gorilla represented by its voluminous sagittal crest.
One of these masks, 42 cm high, has a very stylized moon face, colored in the left side in red to represent birth, initiation and life while the right side is white for evoking ancestors and afterlife.
Its geographical origin is lost. This ancient mask had surfaced in Paris when it was sold to the designer and tastemaker Jacques Doucet by the specialized dealer Paul Guillaume. Doucet kept it in his home beside Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon. It later triggered the passion of Michel Périnet for African art.
It was sold by Christie's on June 23, 2021 for € 3.26M from a lower estimate of € 300K, lot 12 in the sale of the Périnet collection. It is featured on a plinth by Kichizo Inagaki.
At the boundary of Gabon, Cameroun and the current Congos, magic and funerary practices have generated masterpieces. In their search for perfect beauty, Kota and Kwele artists sought to express a relationship with the afterlife.
The Emboli mask is a spirit of the forest used in the initiation of the boys, including circumcision. It appears as an amplified human head with some features of the dominant male animals of the equatorial forest such as the gorilla represented by its voluminous sagittal crest.
One of these masks, 42 cm high, has a very stylized moon face, colored in the left side in red to represent birth, initiation and life while the right side is white for evoking ancestors and afterlife.
Its geographical origin is lost. This ancient mask had surfaced in Paris when it was sold to the designer and tastemaker Jacques Doucet by the specialized dealer Paul Guillaume. Doucet kept it in his home beside Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon. It later triggered the passion of Michel Périnet for African art.
It was sold by Christie's on June 23, 2021 for € 3.26M from a lower estimate of € 300K, lot 12 in the sale of the Périnet collection. It is featured on a plinth by Kichizo Inagaki.
Ngil Mask
1
2006 SOLD for € 5.9M by Enchères Rive Gauche
In the deep forest, individuals may try to take advantage of the credulity of others. Some natural phenomena and diseases remain unexplained. To face such situations, the Fang from Gabon had a secret brotherhood with initiatory recruitment, the Ngil, acting both as police and justice.
To terrorize the evil-doers, the Ngil members were busy at night with much noise. To avoid being identified with an individual from the community, the dancer wore a helmet mask. Of course this practice soon became incompatible with the colonial administration and very few of these masks were preserved.
The Ngil mask shows a very elongated face whose features are refined. The prominent eyebrows join the bridge of the nose. The eyes are reduced to small slits and the mouth is minimized or absent. To accentuate their nocturnal power while evoking the livid world of spirits, they were whitened with kaolin. When examples were brought in Europe, they influenced modern art including Modigliani.
With an exceptional preservation of its white kaolin crust, the mask from the Vérité collection was sold for € 5.9M by Enchères Rive Gauche on June 17, 2006.
On the opposite, the mask sold for € 930K by Christie's on December 13, 2011 had been used without a coating.
To terrorize the evil-doers, the Ngil members were busy at night with much noise. To avoid being identified with an individual from the community, the dancer wore a helmet mask. Of course this practice soon became incompatible with the colonial administration and very few of these masks were preserved.
The Ngil mask shows a very elongated face whose features are refined. The prominent eyebrows join the bridge of the nose. The eyes are reduced to small slits and the mouth is minimized or absent. To accentuate their nocturnal power while evoking the livid world of spirits, they were whitened with kaolin. When examples were brought in Europe, they influenced modern art including Modigliani.
With an exceptional preservation of its white kaolin crust, the mask from the Vérité collection was sold for € 5.9M by Enchères Rive Gauche on June 17, 2006.
On the opposite, the mask sold for € 930K by Christie's on December 13, 2011 had been used without a coating.
2
2022 SOLD for € 5.25M by Hôtel des Ventes Montpellier
A Fang Ngil mask had been collected around 1917 by a civil administrator of the Afrique Occidentale Française. It resurfaced from an attic after more than one hundred years in oblivion in a military trunk.
This specimen 55 cm high in cheese wood, kaolin, woven rattan and fabric is specially remarkable by the conservation of its very long raffia fiber beard. Its beautiful craftsmanship makes it one of the best amidst about twelve surviving Ngil masks.
Consigned from the descendants of the French officer, it was sold for € 5.25M on March 26, 2022 by Hôtel des Ventes Montpellier, lot 92. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The Fang Ngil mask from the Périnet collection was sold for € 2.54M from a lower estimate of € 700K by Christie's on June 23, 2021, lot 28.
On October 30, 2018, Christie's sold for € 2.4M as lot 98 another Ngil mask which has preserved a very long and abundant hair, a small raffia beard and scarifications in the shape of a double arrow on both temples
This specimen 55 cm high in cheese wood, kaolin, woven rattan and fabric is specially remarkable by the conservation of its very long raffia fiber beard. Its beautiful craftsmanship makes it one of the best amidst about twelve surviving Ngil masks.
Consigned from the descendants of the French officer, it was sold for € 5.25M on March 26, 2022 by Hôtel des Ventes Montpellier, lot 92. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The Fang Ngil mask from the Périnet collection was sold for € 2.54M from a lower estimate of € 700K by Christie's on June 23, 2021, lot 28.
On October 30, 2018, Christie's sold for € 2.4M as lot 98 another Ngil mask which has preserved a very long and abundant hair, a small raffia beard and scarifications in the shape of a double arrow on both temples
Baule Twin Mask
2015 SOLD for € 5.4M by Sotheby's
The Baule (Baoulé) from Ivory Coast used the abstract concept of duality as a mystical element for understanding the world. The duality takes many forms: man and woman, body and soul, the object and its shadow, the reflection, the confluence, the twins, and even the role of the ego in the community.
The Vérité collection included since the 1930s a double mask, sold for € 1.3M by Enchères Rive Gauche on 17 June 2006, lot 165 and for € 5.4M by Sotheby's on June 24, 2015, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Unlike the Janus figures, the two faces are side by side. It is a real mask in which only the two central eyes are pierced to be used in that function.
Both heads are identical in shape but differ in the location of scars, in the hair and in the color of the patina that has been partially preserved. It is indeed a male-female duality. The serene and wise attitude of the two heads confirms that the meaning is more philosophical than religious. This is not an emanation of the primordial couple.
A double mask is created by the artist on the occasion of a twin birth, probably as a unique piece that explains its great rarity. Two other examples only are known. A dancer wore this mask in the presence of the real twins during festive celebrations.
An elegant Baoulé mask was sold for € 2.04M by Christie's on June 22, 2023, lot 14. It displays a heart-shaped facial plane, a thin nose with slightly dilated nostrils, a contemplative gaze and a pinched mouth. The hairstyle holds back rows of tight braids. Three rows of scarifications on the temples and at the tip of the nose were used to identify the clan. The face is surmounted by a pretty antelope head with curved and ridged horns.
By comparison of style, this piece belongs to a group of four masks and about fifteen figures made in or around the village of Essankro. One of them is the two headed mask narrated above.
The Vérité collection included since the 1930s a double mask, sold for € 1.3M by Enchères Rive Gauche on 17 June 2006, lot 165 and for € 5.4M by Sotheby's on June 24, 2015, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Unlike the Janus figures, the two faces are side by side. It is a real mask in which only the two central eyes are pierced to be used in that function.
Both heads are identical in shape but differ in the location of scars, in the hair and in the color of the patina that has been partially preserved. It is indeed a male-female duality. The serene and wise attitude of the two heads confirms that the meaning is more philosophical than religious. This is not an emanation of the primordial couple.
A double mask is created by the artist on the occasion of a twin birth, probably as a unique piece that explains its great rarity. Two other examples only are known. A dancer wore this mask in the presence of the real twins during festive celebrations.
An elegant Baoulé mask was sold for € 2.04M by Christie's on June 22, 2023, lot 14. It displays a heart-shaped facial plane, a thin nose with slightly dilated nostrils, a contemplative gaze and a pinched mouth. The hairstyle holds back rows of tight braids. Three rows of scarifications on the temples and at the tip of the nose were used to identify the clan. The face is surmounted by a pretty antelope head with curved and ridged horns.
By comparison of style, this piece belongs to a group of four masks and about fifteen figures made in or around the village of Essankro. One of them is the two headed mask narrated above.
Baule Moon
2019 SOLD for € 4.7M by Sotheby's
The numerous celebrations of the Baule (Baoulé) ethnic group of Côte d'Ivoire gave rise to the creation of masks in a great variety, used in dances and processions. These masks have significantly influenced the European art. In 1926 Man Ray juxtaposes a black mask with Kiki's white face. In 1937 a buffalo mask inspires the graphic style of Picasso's Guernica.
The Baoulé thus had ritual masks for mystical ceremonies forbidden to women, specific masks for funerary ceremonies and other masks for processions of feasts.
The processions are opened by the Sun and the Moon, which have no mystical meaning in this circumstance. They are followed by masks of animals and humans. Astral masks are shaped as perfect circles that can be fully surrounded by an openwork headband. Their artistic quality is variable.
On June 18, 2019, Sotheby's sold for € 4.7M as lot 23 a superb Baoulé moon mask, still shiny from its tribal polishing with an abrasive leaf. For preserving human features without obliterating the astral representation, the face is reduced to its basic characteristics below a large forehead.
The outline of the mask includes a braided hair and a finial of three open triangles, certainly surviving from an otherwise broken headband. The catalog assumes that this loss made it unusable and that the tribe accepted for this reason to supply it to a foreigner.
The Baoulé thus had ritual masks for mystical ceremonies forbidden to women, specific masks for funerary ceremonies and other masks for processions of feasts.
The processions are opened by the Sun and the Moon, which have no mystical meaning in this circumstance. They are followed by masks of animals and humans. Astral masks are shaped as perfect circles that can be fully surrounded by an openwork headband. Their artistic quality is variable.
On June 18, 2019, Sotheby's sold for € 4.7M as lot 23 a superb Baoulé moon mask, still shiny from its tribal polishing with an abrasive leaf. For preserving human features without obliterating the astral representation, the face is reduced to its basic characteristics below a large forehead.
The outline of the mask includes a braided hair and a finial of three open triangles, certainly surviving from an otherwise broken headband. The catalog assumes that this loss made it unusable and that the tribe accepted for this reason to supply it to a foreigner.
#AuctionUpdate C'était l'un des lots les plus attendus de la vente, le rarissime Masque Lune Baulé, Côte d'Ivoire, a été disputé jusqu'à 4,7 millions € #CollectionRivière #SothebysAfricanArt pic.twitter.com/uwVg6xRpNl
— Sotheby's France (@SothebysFr) June 18, 2019
Luba Mask
2021 SOLD for € 7.2M by Christie's
Malembe-Nkulu is a region in south Congo, now in the Democratic Republic of the Congo just north from Zambia.
A Luba mask from that region is classified as a beast-man mask by some specialists. Less than 10 examples are surviving. They were for the use of the leaders in the initiation rituals. He would have the applicant inhale a medicine to make him faint, simulating death.
The tight pattern of scarifications on the forehead and below the eyes was also directly painted on the skin of other attendants. They were certainly influenced by the Zambian Tshokwe.
A Malembe-Nkulu Luba mask 51 cm high was sold for € 7.2M from a lower estimate of € 1.5M by Christie's on June 23, 2021, lot 43 from the Périnet collection. It is enhanced by white kaolin in the chiseled pattern. The patina is superb. The face expression with protruding eyebrows and severe mouth is both authoritative and benevolent.
A Luba mask from that region is classified as a beast-man mask by some specialists. Less than 10 examples are surviving. They were for the use of the leaders in the initiation rituals. He would have the applicant inhale a medicine to make him faint, simulating death.
The tight pattern of scarifications on the forehead and below the eyes was also directly painted on the skin of other attendants. They were certainly influenced by the Zambian Tshokwe.
A Malembe-Nkulu Luba mask 51 cm high was sold for € 7.2M from a lower estimate of € 1.5M by Christie's on June 23, 2021, lot 43 from the Périnet collection. It is enhanced by white kaolin in the chiseled pattern. The patina is superb. The face expression with protruding eyebrows and severe mouth is both authoritative and benevolent.
Songye Mask
2019 SOLD for $ 4.2M by Christie's
Against the dangers of the rainforest, several groups maintained secret societies with a dual role : to terrorize the malicious and to communicate with the ancestors. There is in Gabon the Ngil of the Fang and in Mali the Bambara ethnic group.
For the Songye of Congo, this activity is entrusted to the Bifwebe. This word is the plural of Kifwebe. The Kifwebe man wears a complete disguise that turns him into an overpowering creature. From his human origin, he keeps the standing position. He speaks with a strange falsetto voice and roars like a lion.
The Bifwebe masks are adorned with a pattern of undulating lines which does not imitate the zebra absent in this region but rather an antelope. The nose and mouth have intimidating shapes that evoke the snout of the crocodile and the thorns of the porcupine.
Female masks also exist but for other uses. The Songye believe that it is the reincarnation of an ancestor that gives life to the fetus. The Kifwebe woman wears the mask to facilitate the reception of the ancestor in her belly, and also in some applications of the Lunar rituals.
These rare female masks do not have the severity of their male counterparts. One of them, described before 1930 in the Walschot collection, is a masterpiece of African art by the vitality of the waves of the face, in a pure white of kaolin contrasting over the dark skin. This specimen probably directly inspired Calder and the entwined zebras by Vasarely. It was sold for $ 4.2M by Christie's on May 14, 2019, lot 8.
For the Songye of Congo, this activity is entrusted to the Bifwebe. This word is the plural of Kifwebe. The Kifwebe man wears a complete disguise that turns him into an overpowering creature. From his human origin, he keeps the standing position. He speaks with a strange falsetto voice and roars like a lion.
The Bifwebe masks are adorned with a pattern of undulating lines which does not imitate the zebra absent in this region but rather an antelope. The nose and mouth have intimidating shapes that evoke the snout of the crocodile and the thorns of the porcupine.
Female masks also exist but for other uses. The Songye believe that it is the reincarnation of an ancestor that gives life to the fetus. The Kifwebe woman wears the mask to facilitate the reception of the ancestor in her belly, and also in some applications of the Lunar rituals.
These rare female masks do not have the severity of their male counterparts. One of them, described before 1930 in the Walschot collection, is a masterpiece of African art by the vitality of the waves of the face, in a pure white of kaolin contrasting over the dark skin. This specimen probably directly inspired Calder and the entwined zebras by Vasarely. It was sold for $ 4.2M by Christie's on May 14, 2019, lot 8.
Lega Mask
2016 SOLD for € 3.7M by Sotheby's
The Lega ethnic group (sometimes called Warega) of Congo was divided into several clan communities which recruited their members through an initiatory process. Masks were worn during the ceremonies. They were made of wood, bone, stone, resin or ivory.
Among these materials, ivory is the most important. An ivory mask is representing the founder of the community and the number of past generations from him is known by the group. Such a mask is exhibited and never worn : it is indeed a work of art in the Western meaning of that wording. It is unique for a community and therefore it is extremely rare.
The Lega tribe is certainly the one that has best mastered the art of ivory. In addition to the full scale mask, many small replicas that may be called masquettes were produced for the need of the initiatory liturgy. These masquettes were held in the palm of the hand.
In the 1930s, the Lega ivory masks marveled in due course the pioneering connoisseurs who were exploring the depth and variety of African arts. One of these masks, abundantly exhibited, described and photographed at that time, has just resurfaced. It was sold for € 3.7M from a lower estimate of € 1M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2016, lot 41. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The quality of the patina had been identified but the piece had been only photographed in black and white. Its rediscovery confirms that this is a masterpiece : amateurs highly appreciate the figures in good condition that provide the evidence of an intense tribal use.
Its deep patina in a superb color mixing brown, red and orange was performed by a repetitive anointing with pigmented oils. This organic layer had a magical role. This specimen bears the trace of withdrawals that had been taken for therapeutic purposes in an interesting case of the intervention of the ancestor for a real assistance to the new follower.
Among these materials, ivory is the most important. An ivory mask is representing the founder of the community and the number of past generations from him is known by the group. Such a mask is exhibited and never worn : it is indeed a work of art in the Western meaning of that wording. It is unique for a community and therefore it is extremely rare.
The Lega tribe is certainly the one that has best mastered the art of ivory. In addition to the full scale mask, many small replicas that may be called masquettes were produced for the need of the initiatory liturgy. These masquettes were held in the palm of the hand.
In the 1930s, the Lega ivory masks marveled in due course the pioneering connoisseurs who were exploring the depth and variety of African arts. One of these masks, abundantly exhibited, described and photographed at that time, has just resurfaced. It was sold for € 3.7M from a lower estimate of € 1M by Sotheby's on June 22, 2016, lot 41. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
The quality of the patina had been identified but the piece had been only photographed in black and white. Its rediscovery confirms that this is a masterpiece : amateurs highly appreciate the figures in good condition that provide the evidence of an intense tribal use.
Its deep patina in a superb color mixing brown, red and orange was performed by a repetitive anointing with pigmented oils. This organic layer had a magical role. This specimen bears the trace of withdrawals that had been taken for therapeutic purposes in an interesting case of the intervention of the ancestor for a real assistance to the new follower.
Exceptionally rare Lega mask from Congo, part of auction @SothebysFr #Paris on 22 June https://t.co/hFqP1uAEWU pic.twitter.com/u18IsWWbtk
— SHOW ON SHOW (@SHOWONSHOW) April 29, 2016
Tabwa Mask
2018 SOLD for € 2.9M by Christie's
In 1976 in a village in southeastern Congo near Lake Tanganyika, an art dealer buys directly from the Tabwa tribal group an extremely rare helmet mask. The only other known example in full head helmet including the whole hairstyle is less decorated. According to the Tabwa tradition this dance mask is a female presence with a strong sexual connotation. It is not so simple.
The Tabwa practiced fertility dances of couples in which the man wore a buffalo mask. These male masks are less rare. From their neighbors the Luba a man faced mask with buffalo horns is known.
The mask collected in 1976 is very finely incised with realistic details and embellished with inclusions of white shells in eyes and nose. The three lines of scarification of the face respond to the beauty practice of men and women from the Tabwa elites, attested by old photos. The very fine braided pattern of the hairstyle also responds to the fashion of their tribal ritual. Tabwa women used a headrest for sleeping without damaging a new hairstyle.
The feminine characterization of this mask is confirmed by the jewel in the left nostril, an Arab-Indian tradition that came through present-day Tanzania, and by the earrings. By adding the usual practice of a ritual mask, the young woman was hiding her personal beauty within the perfect figure of an ancestor that made her even more desirable. She also had to drink the sap of the medicinal tree that produced the wood of her mask.
This mask whose patina demonstrates a long ritual use was sold for € 2.9M by Christie's on April 10, 2018, lot 91.
The Tabwa practiced fertility dances of couples in which the man wore a buffalo mask. These male masks are less rare. From their neighbors the Luba a man faced mask with buffalo horns is known.
The mask collected in 1976 is very finely incised with realistic details and embellished with inclusions of white shells in eyes and nose. The three lines of scarification of the face respond to the beauty practice of men and women from the Tabwa elites, attested by old photos. The very fine braided pattern of the hairstyle also responds to the fashion of their tribal ritual. Tabwa women used a headrest for sleeping without damaging a new hairstyle.
The feminine characterization of this mask is confirmed by the jewel in the left nostril, an Arab-Indian tradition that came through present-day Tanzania, and by the earrings. By adding the usual practice of a ritual mask, the young woman was hiding her personal beauty within the perfect figure of an ancestor that made her even more desirable. She also had to drink the sap of the medicinal tree that produced the wood of her mask.
This mask whose patina demonstrates a long ritual use was sold for € 2.9M by Christie's on April 10, 2018, lot 91.
