Bamun mask of the Cameroun
Bamun
mask
37 cm high
ca. 1900
Price : 9,500 €
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condition: old black-brown shiny patina, some parts
missing in the coiffe, a big crack in the wood on it's right side.
Provenance: Alfons Bermel who owned a gallery in Berlin
1989-1996
Masks of the highlands represent power and authority.
Some of them represent
animals, noblewoman or makes of noble lineage as shown by the coiffure.
The
quite elaborated arched headdress, and ornated crest bearing a spider is
restricted to royalty.
email
David Norden about the Bamoun
Bamun Bibliography:
-
This fine head is probably from the same carver as the one in the
Portland Art Museum, Gebauer collection ( See illustration in Robbins Nooter
African Art in American Collections 
~ Warren M. Robbins page 316 figure 812 to compare, a book that should be in any
serious collector library)
-
Cameroon:
Art and Kings
~ Christraud M. Geary & Hans-Joachim Koloss 255 pages. The ancient kingdoms
of the Cameroon Grassfields are famous for their splendid artworks - thrones
ornamented with precious European beads, wooden figures sculptured by unknown
masters, enormous drums, finely carved jewelry made from ivory and brass, as
well as fabulous masks. This book presents 150 impressive masterpieces from the
courts (...) Two leading scholars in the field of Cameroonian art give an
important introduction to the fascinating and complex world of the Grassfield
kingdoms: their rituals, secret societies, and, above all, the meaning of art in
this context. Hans-Joachim Koloss gives a detailed overview of court art in the
North West Province, focusing in particular on the numerous masks which are
owned by the palaces as well as the secret societies.
-
Babungo:
Treasures of the Sculptor Kings in Cameroon
~ Jean-Paul Notue, Professor of Art History and Museology at the University of
Yaounde I, Cameroon, Associate Researcher IRD (Institut Français de Recherche
pour le Développement en Coopération). 224 pages. The selection of the pieces
is quite different than the one which would have been done by western
museum curators. But this interesting book gives some interesting insights
inthe Bamun culture. This book interprets a sample of major and significant
objects from the rich cultural and artistic heritage of Babungo, which was
formerly the most important iron-working center in Cameroon . The treasure of
the talented sculptor kings of Babungo, with thousands of pieces, still remains
the most impressive of the Grassland.
At this moment there are many exhibitions related on Cameroun Art. Like
the Paul
and Clara Gebauer Collection of Cameroon Art and Cameroon
Art of the Kings
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This fine XIXth century Bamun should be in a museum or high end
private collection. Click on the thumbnails to see larger views.
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to Bamun mask to Cart - request of availability
+32- 3-227.35.40
