Lot: 325

83rd Tribal Art Auction

Mask of a dignitary

Cameroon Grassfields, Bamileke

Provenance Size Starting price / estimated price
Karl Woermann, Hamburg, Germany
Sebastian Fernandez, New York, USA
H: 20.5 inch This object is not available anymore.

wood, blackish brown patina, kaolin, redwood powder, helmet-shaped, disc-shaped superstructure with stylized spider motif, eyes, ears and mouth accentuated by paint, min. dam., fine cracks, metal base;
the spider motif is widely spread in the Grassfields of Cameroon. The spider is a symbol for wisdom and plays an important role in truth telling.


Gardi, Bernhard, Kunst in Kamerun, Basel 1994, p. 87