Q: I do love old stuff. When we bought our historic house 10 years ago we bought it with items in house still. I have found a few interesting items also. Here are a couple pics of a mask we found. its about 35 inches x 25 and is carved out of one piece of bottom of a tree. It looks like maybe rubber tree wood painted in Indian colors. Well anything you can tell me is great John, 908 A: Mexican decoratives, also called tourist masks, are avoided by most collectors. None the less, I often find them interesting and even beautiful, which is certainly true of yours. This…
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Unusual Fang mask from Ivory Coast
Q: I got strongly interested in African tribal art two years ago when I came to Brussels. Recently I bought a Fang mask. The shape is not the common shape of Fang Ngil masks. This one in the photo is 56cmX24cm and weighs 2,4kg. Is it a true Fang mask? What kind of variety? On your value code where would it stand? Ricardo, 907 A: Though not common, I believe it is a true Fang mask. ln the side view you can see clearly the elegant way the concave facial area has been sculpted out of the face. The Fang do this so well. I should also point out…
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Decorative masks can be fun
Q: Hey, I bought this mask off of EBay. The seller took over her sister’s estate. Apparently the sister had majored in anthropology and was a collector of African and Pacific Northwest Indian fetishes. The lady selling the mask did not know anything about it. I’ve looked for similar masks, but haven’t come across any. I was curious if you could shed some light on the origin of this mask. Austin, 906 A: You’d have a hard time finding another one of these. At first glance it is a Kple Kple mask from the Baule people of Ivory Coast, West Africa. It’s even antiqued to make it look old and…
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Masks as fine art
Janina Anderson is the artist who created these wonderful masks. They are more like sculpture, rather than something meant to be worn for ceremony or protection. Here is what she says about her masks. I wanted to make the work as personal and relatable as possible for viewers. There is something about fiber art that is just so great about making those connections with an audience. I think that because of our daily experience with cloth and its connection to the body, we have a really intimate knowledge of textiles. This is a huge tool for me, and I believe it makes my ideas a lot more accessible so that…
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NWC Indian mask
Q: I just picked up a bunch of native Canadian masks which is an area I know nothing about, but I instantly fell in love with them. I have identified each of them the best I could by using your book. I have uploaded my favorite one. All have been signed by a wolf cane and dated from 1971-74. Dan, 904 A: We usually refer to masks from the Indian tribes that populate coastal Washington, British Columbia, and lower Alaska as Northwest Coast, or NWC. I think this one was made by a hobbyist, or for tourists and collectors. It would be helpful to find out who the carver was. …
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Rare Mexican performance mask
Q: Check out this mask. It is one of the 9 lords of the night characters from a dance which is about the weirdest, dark stuff in Suchitlan tradition. Pablo, 903 A: I might have guessed this was a tourist mask made to look like a zombie or vampire. But since the photo comes from Pablo Medina, who has a great knowledge of Suchitlan folk art, we know it is an authentic piece. Suchitlan is a small town in the small state of Colima in west-central Mexico. The famous mask maker, Herminio Candalario, is also from there. We recently posted one of his masks. See number 898 titled “One of…
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Mah Meri mask from Malaysia
Q: I thought you might enjoy seeing these. The first two are Mah Meri masks from Malaysia, which I won at an auction for a very low price. I also have a third, that I intend to sell. I’ve been wanting one of these for a while, but I saw no way to get them short of going to Malaysia. Notice that they have articulated jaws. Aaron, 902 A: Thanks for sharing this unique mask with us. The Mah Meri tribe of Malaysia have an elaborate ritual involving dancers with intricately-carved masks who perform the historic Main Jo-oh dance for the annual Hari Moyang festival in Pulau Carey, 90 miles…
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Another interesting mystery
Q: I inherited this mask. I would like to know its origin and the period. The material is wood, which has been polished, and the dimensions are height 24cm, width 15,5cm and depth 5,5cm. It is relatively flat. Erik, 901 A: Flat masks without eye holes are usually made for tourists… but not always. I have seen things like this from both Africa and the South Pacific that were used in culture. It has the feel of authenticity– as if it has been handled for many years in some tribe. I hope that Erik will double check to see if it is made of bone rather than wood. It looks…
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A well known mask from the Lega
Q: Here is an African Lega with beard. The mask is 5″ x 7.5″; and the beard extends 7″ below bottom of mask at shortest point. Sue, 900 A: The first photo was sent with several others. I thought I should share it with you because it is very popular with collectors. The Lega are a large ethnic group in the one of the largest countries of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lega masks are used as initiation objects in the Bwami society. Unlike many masks in other African cultures, the masks of the Lega are not usually worn over the face, they are attached to the body, held…
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Mask from Sepik River, PNG
Q: I came across this really interesting mask at an estate sale. They thought it might be Alaskan in origin. After i brought it home and did a little research of my own, i came across your website and from what i can tell i think it may be an example of a PNG Sepik River area mask. Can you confirm or debunk this based on these pictures, and maybe give me an idea of how old you think it might be? Eric, 899 You did your homework! But now I want you to do more and try to find out how old this piece is. Mask made before the…
