Q: I was given this mask as a gift from a friend with quite a bit of African masks. I’d like to know it’s value. I do not collect them but the giver does, and he has a large collection. Most were given to him from patients, mainly from Africa. I have more pictures if needed. Thank you. Michelle, 1635 A: Instead of featuring your mask, I put it in second place. The big photo is from a blog I posted more than two years ago. This mask certainly looks like an authentic Ntomo, but it could be a carefully made reproduction. If the latter, it will still be a…

Q: I have a baga nimba mask (full size) and paperwork for it. It came from a prominent tribal collector in Boston. I am curious as to what you believe it would be valued around or if a market for this exists. Here are photos of the mask. Let me know your thoughts. Adam, 1634 A: The most important of the Baga art forms is the great mask, or Nimba. It represents the mother of fertility, protector of pregnant women, and presides over all agricultural ceremonies. The dancer, wearing a full raffia costume, carries the mask on his shoulders, looking out through holes between the breasts. In use, such masks…

Q: Hello from Belgium. Here is one of my favorites from my collection of masks of the world. It is 19th century and a part of the objects brought back from Congo during the 1st Belgian expedition organized by the CCI (Compagnie pour le Commerce et l’Industrie) to Katanga 1891-1893 and led by Alexandre Delcommune. This is the first Royal Kuba masks, Ngaady a Mwaash, known to be brought in Belgium in 1893 and probably the only known to date to have the nape covered with commercial fabric that was a royal exclusive Kuba privilege before the submission of the Kuba Kingdom in 1904. It comes from the estate of…

Q: Picked this up at an auction. There is some damage on the top, but I don’t know what caused it. Wondering how old this is and where it is from? Despite the damage, is it still collectible? Pat, 1628 A: You have found an attractive mask and asked some good questions. Damage like this doesn’t lower its value… but being a reproduction does. To the average collector this is good news because an old and used piece would cost so much more. It was probably made recently, but age is of little concern for a reproduction. What you have is collectible. The Baule are one of the Akan peoples.…

In the Dogon communities of Mali, West Africa, masked dancers perform, creating a brilliantly colored, ever-changing spectacle of sculpture, costume, song, and dance. During his research in the 1930s French anthropologist Marcel Griaule documented more than seventy different mask types, representing animals, birds, human characters, and abstract concepts, which he considered to be a visual summary of the world surrounding the Dogon people. Griaule saw the ceremonies as a stunning materialization of the close links between contemporary Dogon society and the many stages of life and death, prosperity and hardship, etc. We collectors sometimes forget that most of these Dogon masks tend to change as time goes by. The style…

Q: I bought this mask in store in Sarasota. I love it. I would like to know what is the value. Maria, 1624 A: This particular Mwano Pwo Mask is traditional in style and would be affordable for most people. I saw another one that was nicer offered by a reputable dealer for $800. Here is what they had to say about their reproduction. Representing ideal young female beauty, Mwano Pwo were danced with male counterparts, Chihongo, during initiation ceremonies and other important occasions to bring fertility and prosperity to the village. Most share the depiction of facial scarification patterns, filed teeth, fanciful and inventive hair styles, tear motifs and…

Q: I bought several from an owner of a resale shop. They aren’t dealers and know very little about antiques. They came across a established photographer and painter and they ended up buying all he had. A storage unit I think. He worked in Chicago. They told me he said they were from Columbia. One says Ivory Coast on a piece of paper on the back. I paid 15.00 each and I would like to present them for sale. Janet, 1620 A: This looks to me like a Baule mask from Ivory Coast, West Africa. The problem is that you want to sell all of them and need to know…

Q: I recently acquired a mask from Bukavu, DRC. I’m told it’s a Bemba mask from the Uvira region. I was wondering if I could send you a photo to take a look to see if you might have more information on its quality and use. I’ve been told its quite old. It’s a helmeted mask with a carved face on four sides. It comes to a single wooden cylinder at the top and along the base it looks like there may be holes for a longer dress of grass or material. Matt, 1617 A: You a correct on culture and location. Here is some info I found on the…

This is one of my favorite African masks. It is a Ngil from Gabon or Cameroon, wood colored with kaolin, by the Fang people, and from the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, Germany. Worn with full costume in a night masquerade to settle disputes and quell misbehavior, it is a sight to behold. African masks are the largest category of masks and the most popular. But many people worry about their authenticity. This has always been a problem. Today I googled “authentic African masks” and found that about 95% ranged from cheap tourist fakes to well made reproductions. African masks are often sold for more than their true value. But we…

Q: I happened to be in Paris during the annual international tribal art fair Parcours des Mondes (https://www.parcours-des-mondes.com). As such, we spent a few hours one afternoon hopping in and out of 2-3 dozen ethnographic art dealers, and I was quickly exposed to a wide variety of African masks, many of which were too expensive for the average collector due to their provenance and condition (e.g. Dan masks in the €8,000-€10,000 range). Although ethnographic art is new to me, I have been involved in numismatics and more recently ancient antiquities so I can understand how some of these pieces fetch large sums. That being said, these masks were far outside…