@Bronwen @2manybooks While I wait for my Teke to arrive, thought I’d see if Someone can help me solve this mystery of what exactly is this mask. My dad gifted it to me 27 years ago. We are from Antigua (English-speaking Caribbean island, not the Guatemalan city) and he made a living buying and selling “old things”, mainly enormous antique terra cotta Iberian jars and such. he got this from a woman whose mother or grandmother had dug it up while preparing her land (she said). Nothing like this had ever turned up before. My theory was that an African- born enslaved person actually fabricated it in Antigua back in the 1800s based on knowledge he brought From africa. But a gallery owner in DC later on told me that it was more the 1920s-40s and suggested that a British colonial administrator previously posted to Cameroon could have taken it with him to Antigua. He polished the back of one ear and it looks like brass to me but could be other metal. The paper on the back is from the shadow box I had it framed in for a while. Do the experts agree that it would be from the early-mid 1900s? And what would a bronze version of a wooden mask be used for? She mentioned it could be a hip mask. Thanks for sharing your expertise! Marie-Elena
Welcome, antiguamarie/Marie-Elena. You do me an honor I do not deserve. My expertise, such as it is, is with cameos & the Greek, Roman & neoclassical images on them. Sometimes I know something that is also useful in identifying items other than cameos. I am completely out of my depth here, except to say this does not really look like it has spent any time in the ground. In my world there are lots of forged engraved gems that someone claims to have dug up here or there. They all have to be viewed with suspicion. That does not mean it would not be nice to identify the culture & maybe who the figure is. It's 2manybooks you need. Give it time.
Looks close to this one, I don’t know they are correct in saying Chad, 2mb will be along. https://www.catawiki.com/l/34515213-beautiful-bronze-african-mask-bronze-chad
bronze is the 1st thing that comes to mind........... hip masks..?.....passport masks were made of wood....
It is a nice hip mask. I agree with the gallery owner that told you it was from Cameroon. It is probably Bamileke/Bamun, similar to this one: http://galleriaprimitiva.com/BamilekeBronzeMask.htmlours The gallery estimated the date for this one as early to mid 20th century. Such masks were worn by royalty and other dignitaries and are, I believe, derived from an earlier Benin tradition. Most African "bronzes" are actually brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, as opposed to true bronze which is an alloy of copper and tin. Your mask was made using the "lost wax" casting technique. A model was made in wax and encased in a clay-like molding material. The mold is fired, melting out the wax. And then the metal can be poured in. The casting of yours is quite well done (as opposed to the one that @i need help found). My feeling is that it is somewhat older than the other example I posted here. But I do not have enough experience with this type of object to be more certain. There are also many reproductions/recreations of West African bronzes made for sale, rather than traditional use. But yours is nicer than the tourist quality pieces I have seen.
I have been trying to find a photograph that shows how such hip masks were/are worn, and it has been surprisingly difficult. Here is one of Chief Francis Edo Osagie, Benin City, Nigeria, c. 1960. You can see a mask worn on his left hip. https://africa.si.edu/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/alonge/royal-court-photography/ There were also hip masks in the form of leopards' heads: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/316507 Which can be seen on these warriors on a 16th century Benin bronze: https://smarthistory.org/imagery-power-benin-bronze-plaques/
Wow! This is blowing me away. My dad passed away 2 years ago so it’s a great Fathers Day gift to have this information, especially the photos. I’ve posted it to our family chat. Thank you @2manybooks for giving your time to do this research. I did try a bit myself in the past but came up empty. Now that I have these leads, I’ll continue to search myself. It’s interesting that the mask seem definitely attributed to Cameroon groups yet the features are a dead ringer for the Nigerian Benin bronzes including the photo you show! Says a lot about the arbitrary boundaries into artificial nations drawn Esp with the treaty of Berlin.
Also - I think the suggestion that this came to Antigua via a British colonial administrator is likely correct. In the 20s-40s, there would have been close to zero travel or direct connection between local Antiguans in Antigua, and Africa. As these were high-status objects, I imagine it could well have been presented to the British person by a West African counterpart under the indirect rule used by Britiain in West Africa in particular.
That is one of the things I noticed as well. The features are quite traditional Benin, but the headdress, the treatment of the "beard" and eyebrows are much more typical of Cameroon. It is an interesting piece.
