Featured What did my husband buy!? Origins mask?

Was going trough our stored stuff today and found this wrapped up in several bags. Turns out my husband bought it several years ago. He had it hidden away because he knew I wouldnt have liked it. He doesn't know what it is. I Googled some images and found several similar ones with feathers and such. Some were ceremonial masks. Is this also a ceremonial mask?

It does look old and is very worn and beaten up (very dirty is the word). It has two holes on the sides, so I assume it was made to wear?

Does somebody here knows the origins of this mask. Is it African?

 

Gosh! And you didn't see the charm oozing from every crack?? Silly husband!

 

Wow, I think it's wonderful. Don't know much about African masks but there is a good book African Masks: From the Barbier-Mueller Collection which has many examples classified by regions. Also, glad to know that it's not only my husband who plays that buy-and-hide game.

 

Wowow!

 

I guess I understand what you mean. I would maybe display it, bit than it has to go quarantine in a glass dome or such. Because only thing I see oozing from those cracks is sweat. Lol

 

looks african...and made like it could be worn....but I don't think it was....

Although not written in stone....
Early masks were stripped of their headgear...
& the ones I've found with all the lovely weaving, feathers...& grass still attached , were mid century and made for sale.

 

@2manybooks ?

 

that is interesting to know. I was wondering why many mask had no bells and whistles. It does have cracks on the face which looks like repairs, and the nails used for the repairs appear to be slightly different than the other ones used to hold the metal plates in place. The head cover is also very discoulered.

 

Surely there must be situations where that mask would be appropriate? Dinner parties? Scaring off burglars?

 

Going to the dentist...Great Uncle's bachelor dinner?

 

not discolored near the mask.......where the hair would have left it oily and dark !!!

 

Pretty sure it is African, but not ringing any bells yet as to more specific origin. The style is not familiar. But the raffia accoutrements have sort of a Chokwe vibe. their masks usually creep me out - they look like dead people.

It is my understanding that when African art was first being collected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many masks and other items were "sanitized" by removing the attachments. Europeans and Americans wanted to see the wood alone, cleaned and polished - more like "real" art. I don't know that the presence of the attachments is proof that the mask was made solely for sale (though it might have been). There has been a change in collecting criteria - collectors now look for items that are original and intact. Masks were also made, used, and then sold. The distinction between "genuine" and "made for sale" is not always clear cut.

 

The closest I have found, stylistically, is this Kota figure. The Kota are a group that live in the eastern Gabon, near the border with the Republic of Congo. This figure has the same heavy brows, triangular nose, and rectangular mouth. It is also covered in sheet metal.

Jean-Baptiste Bacquart: The Tribal Arts of Africa. Thames & Hudson, 1998.

However, masks from this group are apparently uncommon.

 

I agree, it's African, but other than that, I doubt that it can be attributed to a specific tribe. And I would suspect that it was made for the decorator market, rather than for actual use.

Several things are not quite "right" about it. First, it would be very uncomfortable, if not impossible to wear in a dance situation. There is no place for the nose, for example, and the eye slits don't appear to be functional.

In addition, most masks that are actually culturally used are based on a traditional form, they are not fantasy items. It's unlikely that an authentic mask would show up and be one that has never been published in a book or appeared in a museum, and would be unfamiliar to those who know about African masks.

And finally, the raffia around the face looks too new and "fresh," the stitching around the top looks too bright and shows no evidence at all of age, and the back looks like it's been painted and artificially "aged," (although that is a little hard to judge just from photos.)

African mask makers have become very creative in making masks appear older than they are; and "authentic," when they are not.

 

Yes I had a look into this area. It seems that the Kota used similar techniques, shapes, styles and materials to make their masks. The use of brass and copper plates attched with copper nails.

https://www.artkhade.com/en/object/042934/jx3dBu/a-kota-obamba-mask-gabon

 

I can understand why! Yesterday after handling the mask and such we went to bed, both my partner and I had the itches! Not normal!

We had to change the bedding, change our clothing and had to shower again! I'm defo not gone touch this thing again! I understand now why they removed all the attachments.

 

they are not al;one putting metal on masks....

Oh...Ouch.....
both the feathers and the leather may have attracted insects that are happy now to live in the fibers.....and lay their eggs there....

 

Yes I think that's the case. I have wrapped it back up in several bin bags so they don't escape.

I've seen these mask you mentioned. But the way it's made and the used copper nails com very close to the Kato tribe. The geometric abstract faces covered with shining brass and copper plates are very similar to Kato than any others I've seen.

 

I usually put feather fans in a bin bag with a lot of space around them, spray insecticide into the bag and leave it for a while. Not advised with delicate materials, but I don't see any delicate material on your mask.

 

I've had good luck putting smaller items in the freezer also.