Wooden African Masks

Hi Daisy, first one (the ‘cat’) is Indonesian or Bali probably- definitely not African- and is probably a tourist piece if there’s no eyeholes. Second one’s an African tourist piece, and the third looks like it comes from Southern Africa and is a tourist piece.

Yes, I have had experience selling these. I have this theory- there’s so much of this tourist stuff around here in the UK that the genuine valuable ones get overlooked. Just a theory so far 🙂

Bruno Claessen’s blog contains plenty of info on genuine masks. Warning- his latest entry contains pictures of prehistoric bones in a cave.

Hi Daysi, the one with all the painting is probably a tourist piece, as Antique Frog says, however I see that style more often in the Congo than in South Africa.  This is the pair I picked up from the DRC. They’re kind of hard to price, because folks like them because they’re pretty, but they’re touristy, so they need a particular buyer.

https://imgur.com/OfjB2wg

The cat is definitely not African.

The all wood one, now, is probably genuine. Look on the inside to see if it has the marks of hand tools. That’s a good indication. Genuine African pieces are done by hand with awls and other non-electric hand tools, and the scoring is obvious on the inside. On the outside they are sanded smooth. I’ve picked up a few of this style in Mozambique. Have a look at Makonde art for some ideas, as the Makonde people tend to focus on carvings of people and face. A good sized piece like this I wouldn’t price less than $30. Price upwards as high as you feel comfortable, but be prepared to sit on it. They are very long tail because of the plethora of cheap tourist pieces.

Hi Amatino, that’s interesting- I based my ideas on a website devoted to masks that I was reading about three years ago (can’t find it now). So I was thinking, if you can’t wear it, don’t buy it as it’s not a proper mask, based on the website owner’s opinions on people’s masks.

Bloke at the car boot on Sunday had a box full of African statuettes with projections at the bottom as if they were carved to stand in a boat, for £5. If he (and they) are still there this Sunday I’ll check out the carving marks. Not that I’d buy them- I’ve got enough long tail stuff to stretch from here to the Ouagadougou choo-choo.

For work, in the year 2000, I traveled to an Indonesian island off the coast of Singapore called Batam. During one of the trips, I purchased a few carved wood items. The mask below is about 3′ long and was made in Bali. I was told that the Indonesians make ancestral masks so that their deceased loved ones can look over them, but this one was for decor. It looks like the one in the last photo, but is a lighter wood and a bit longer. I’ve also seen similar masks at an Ethiopian restaurant near me. That, of course, would be African.

https://imgur.com/a/glU1wVH

Antique Frog, me too! Although I’ve never made it to Burkina Faso.

I haven’t either! Seems to be a thriving design scene in Burkina Faso- Nassara Design who have a line of masks made from resin.