ELEPHANT MASK

Bamileke culture, Cameroon

First half of the 20th century

Cloth, pearls and vegetable fibers

H.: 80; L.: 24 cm

Balaclava mask in brown fabric lined with fibers whose long front panel refers to the trunk of the elephant, ending in red filaments on the bottom.

Headdress made of colored braids, with shells.

The mask is also perforated with two circles surrounded by shells.

These characteristic masks appeared in the Kuosi society – a regulatory society, composed mainly of chiefs, high-ranking warriors and agents.

With their rich beaded ornamentation, these masks bear witness to royalty and wealth. The colors and shapes used respond to a particular code: red symbolizes life, women and royalty, black the link between the world of the living and that of the dead and white to the ancestors; the triangles refer to the dress of the royal feline: the leopard.

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON

Ref.LP: 3648