Elephant mask

The elephant is well documented in the Cameroon Grassfields as a symbol of leadership. It is best known in the dramatic form of bead covered cloth masks from the Bamileke peoples. Much more obscure is the origin and meaning of this type of wooden mask. Large wood elephant masks generally are described in early colonial accounts as being acquired in the Tikar region, or more specifically in the town of Bali, a market and administrative center. However no useful documentation exists as to source or use.

Wood cap mask of elephant head with extended trunk curving inward at tip, horns forming a circle and ovoid ears. White pigment is visible in ears, at base of ears and outlining oval eyes.

Galerie AAA (Rasmussen), Paris, -- to 1968

Robert and Nancy Nooter, Washington, D.C., 1968 to 1978

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