{"id":8412,"date":"2019-10-05T15:31:43","date_gmt":"2019-10-05T15:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/?p=8412"},"modified":"2019-10-05T15:38:15","modified_gmt":"2019-10-05T15:38:15","slug":"dont-be-afraid-of-african-masks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/dont-be-afraid-of-african-masks\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t be afraid of African masks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>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
\nand quell misbehavior, it is a sight to behold.<\/p>\n

African masks are the largest category of masks and the most popular. But many people
\nworry about their authenticity. This has always been a problem. Today I googled
\n“authentic African masks” and found that about 95% ranged from cheap tourist fakes to
\nwell made reproductions.<\/p>\n

African masks are often sold for more than their true value. But we must accept
\nthe fact that thousands of poor Africans, for many generations,
\nhave been making their living carving and selling these objects. They want
\nto make a descent living.<\/p>\n

Learn more about African masks. Then try to buy only those that look traditional
\nand well made without paying too much for them. But understanding what traditional masks look like takes a little work. I would suggest you start the old fashioned way by going to collectors, dealers, libraries or museums. After this introduction you can use the internet where you will see more masks
\nand learn what they sell for. <\/p>\n

This website can also help a little with our A-B-C-D value system. “A” is for
\nauthentic artifacts that wealthy collectors and museums can afford. “B” means
\ncollectible. This includes new masks that could be used and carefully made reproductions.
\n“C” is for decorative art that deviates from tradition. “D” is the stuff we see for sale
\nin foreign markets, thrift shops, eBay and many other places. Often they are made
\nto look old and used. Most of the masks sent to me, but not posted on MasksoftheWorld.com,
\nfall into this last category.<\/p>\n

Another thing you can do is quickly send three hi-res scans of any mask you want
\nto purchase to MasksoftheWorld.com. I’ll try to get back you the same day with some
\nhelpful information… at no charge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 must accept the fact that thousands of poor Africans, for many generations, have been making their living carving and selling these objects. They want to make a descent living. Learn more about African masks. Then try to buy only those that look traditional and well made without paying too much for them. But understanding what traditional masks look like takes a little work. I would suggest you start the old fashioned way by going to collectors, dealers, libraries or museums. After this introduction you can use the internet where you will see more masks and learn what they sell for. This website can also help a little with our A-B-C-D value system. “A” is for authentic artifacts that wealthy collectors and museums can afford. “B” means collectible. This includes new masks that could be used and carefully made reproductions. “C” is for decorative art that deviates from tradition. “D” is the stuff we see for sale in foreign markets, thrift shops, eBay and many other places. Often they are made to look old and used. Most of the masks sent to me, but not posted on MasksoftheWorld.com, fall into this last category. Another thing you can do is quickly send three hi-res scans of any mask you want to purchase to MasksoftheWorld.com. I’ll try to get back you the same day with some helpful information… at no charge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8412"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8412\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8415,"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8412\/revisions\/8415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masksoftheworld.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}