Bamana Style Carved Wood Mask and Gabon Style Reliquary Masks

Item Details

Metal

A grouping of three masks featuring a Bamana style carved wood mask with cowrie shell accents. That piece presents an oval shaped face with almond-shaped eyes and mouth, wearing a headdress with two protruding horns. Also featured is a Kota reliquary guardian mask with chased metal over wood. It presents rounded features with a pointed chin. A carved diamond beneath the mask would anchor the piece to a basket containing ancestral remains. The final piece is Gabonese in style, presenting an oval face with a high forehead and stylized features, rendered in metal over wood. There are no apparent maker’s marks.

Condition

- chips, scratches and dents throughout; wear and abrasion to wood; patina to the versos consistent with use; accretion throughout.

Dimensions

- measures one mask.

Item #

17NYC164-073