Facemask Topped With Leopard Figure - Tribal Art
An exquisite blue face mask. This wooden mask is beset with long blue beads in an eye-catching concentric pattern centred around the eyes. Small red and white beads elegantly add detail to the eyes and lips of the mask. The wooden core of the mask is visible as a finely carved set of teeth in the mouth. The two bowls on top of the head create an interesting contrast by reversing the primary colours of the face. Between the two bowls the mask stands an enthralling leopard figure fashioned from vibrant red glass beads and detailed with white beads in a minimalist manner.
This mask was acquired from the Belgian Bronsin collection
Dimensions approx. 40 x 25 x 14 cm
Beaded art from the Cameroon Grasslands collected between 1985 and 2005. Rulers throughout the many Kingdoms in the Cameroon Grassland region (Bamileke –Bamum -Tikar) employed a range of Regalia to assert their political, economic and religious power. Presented publicly in lavish displays of wealth and power, many court objects were distinguished by their elaborate bead embroidery. Imported from Venice, Bohemia or Amsterdam, glass beads were considered a luxury material whose use and distribution were controlled by the King. The decoration of objects with vast quantities of brilliantly colored beads transformed utilitarian objects into symbols of royal status and prestige.
All lots are in the state the collector acquire them. No restorations or cleaning has been performed.
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