About the lot N° 2560
Title : A Bamileke Helmet Mask
Notes : Exhibited:Governors State University, IL, 2003Krannert Art Museum, IL, 2003Belger Art Foundation/University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO, 2004Tall Grass Art Association, IL, 2005Published:Bourgeois and Rodolitz, REMNANTS OF RITUAL: SELECTIONS FROM THE GELBARD COLLECTION OF AFRICAN ART, Ethnos, New York, 2003, p.18, fig.40Commissioned and used by the Kwifon secret society in the Grasslands, special masks are worn at the burial of deceased members and to commemorate deceased kings. This example with a ring of spear points surmounting the head signifies the warrior and is worn in the Oku and Babanki region in the same context as the Elephant mask (No. 26-b). The almost glass-like patina and areas of re-carving at the bottom of the helmet indicate significant age and use.
