This is the rating and price for Night Mask, 2002

Description : A night mask. Cameroon Grasslands, Bacham. 20th century.Approx. 34 1/2h x 17 1/2w x 13d. Provenance: Inventory and Collection from the Estate of Merton D. Simpson. For a similar object see Christie's, Amsterdam, Tribal Art from the Estate of the late. Baron Freddy Rolin, July 2, 2002, lot 227. Catalog Notes: Perhaps the most famous of all masks from the Cameroon grasslands is a sculpture so formally compelling that many scholars consider it to be one of the masterpieces of African Art. This style of forcefully abstracted mask probably dates at least to the eighteenth century. While similar masks have been found in several grassland kingdoms, the historical center of production seems to have been the kingdom of Bandjoun. There the mask, called Tsesah, are instruments of a closed association known as Msop. They were brought out to participate in the enthronement of a king or to act in the mourning festivities of great personages. They also came out to perform the tso dance at the palace, accompanied by ritual flutes. The tso dance symbolizes the sovereignty of the kingdom and took place at the funeral of a king or queen, at annual agricultural rituals that marked the end of the harvest and the new year, at special rituals that had to do with transcendent power, and at certain meetings of the Msop. A History of Art in Africa See also : . One must consider the famous photograph in Arts Anciens du Cameroun, Harter, 1986 p. 276 where in 1967 sculptor Paul Tahbou displays 3 Bacham night masks for sale. Simpson inventory #6292, purchased for $17,500, asking price $35,000.
Price: 3 375.00 USD It's free to register now to view!
Estimate (low-high) : 600 USD-800 USD It's free to register now to view!

Details