African Wood Carving Identification

Hello! I'm new here and picked up a very heavy wood carving that appears to be from Africa but I'm not sure. Does anyone have any idea about this? It feels heavier than oak!

It's about 18 inches tall and 10 inches wide.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

really nice......... I've not seen one before..

 

Looks like an African Yoruba snake mask.
IMHO
Mikey

 

Wow I think you're spot on! Thank you!

http://www.hevasof.com/piece_details/pius_smake_mask.htm

 

It is clearly a snake themed carving, but I don't recognize it as a mask, much less a Yoruba mask.
The Yoruba snake masks I know are three-dimensional, worn on the head rather than on front of the face, with carved snakes surrounding the head. They are also polychrome and in the traditional Yoruba style.

This carving is very nice, but it doesn't look like a traditional piece.
Maybe @2manybooks recognizes it.

 

This is how the Yoruba wear their masks, and these are the real Yoruba snake masks:


https://www.randafricanart.com/Yoruba_gelede_mask_snake_and_birds.html

 

And All I said was it looks like....
But anything that brings @Any Jewelry out is always a good thing for all involved.

 

It appears to be a newer (non-traditional) style of carving produced in Nigeria, made of ebony wood (hence the weight). This example is taken from a website whose author says he worked in Nigeria "over a decade ago", and "Meeting with local artists I was asked to market art works in the United States".


http://hevasof.com/7064.html

 

Thank you very much. I also found a similar carving on the same website which indicated it was Yoruba.

http://www.hevasof.com/piece_details/pius_smake_mask.htm

 

The seller doesn't say anything about the origin of the carving, he only says:
"In Yoruba culture snakes can operate both on land and water. This versatility makes them very powerful."
This is actually 'keyword spam', a way to direct 'Yoruba' searchers to his site, hoping they will buy from him anyway.