Elephant Mask - Bamileke Culture, Cameroon - First Half Of The 20th Century

Elephant Mask
Bamileke culture, Cameroon
First half of the 20th century
Fabric, beads and vegetable fibres  
H. 61 cm, L 57 cm   
(old losses)

A hooded mask made of red fabric lined with fibres, the long front panel of which refers to the elephant's trunk and the circular side discs to its large ears.
It has a beaded decoration embroidered in a geometric way for the ears and in scales or drops for the front. 
The mask is also openworked with two circles encircled by felt pellets, an almond-shaped mouth encircled in the same way and decorated with white glass bead teeth. A cylindrical nose completes this anthropomorphic appearance. 

These characteristic masks appeared in the Kuosi society - a regulatory society, consisting of chiefs, high-ranking warriors and agents. 
With their rich beaded ornamentation, these masks bear witness to royalty and wealth. The colours and shapes used correspond to a particular code: red symbolises life, women and royalty, black the link between the world of the living and the dead and white the ancestors; the triangles refer to the dress of the royal feline: the leopard.

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON

Ref.LP : 3286