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As African masks are largely appropriated by Europeans, they are widely commercialized and sold in most tourist-oriented markets and shops in Africa (as well as "ethnic" shops in the Western world). As a consequence, the traditional art of mask-making has gradually ceased to be a privileged, status-related practice, and mass production of masks ...
The Woyo masks are typically made out of wood, and painted with contrasting colors, often in dots. The colors used had symbolic meaning and were sometimes repainted, symbolizing rebirth, or to restore the power of the mask. [1] They were worn in ceremonial dances known as the ndunga. They are also decorated with sacred objects known as nkissi. [2]
A Punu-Lumbo mask. A Punu-Lumbo mask is a tribal mask native to the Ogooué River basin in Gabon, especially in the south in Ngounié Province. [1] The masks are extremely valuable to collectors of African art, and have been sold at Sotheby's for well over $400,000. [2]
Masks are an art form for those in Africa. The shapes, sizes, engravings, color, materials added, and what ritual they are used in make each mask different from the next. Even though the Kwele masks embody a certain simplicity, [4]: 40 they do not stray away from using animalistic, zoomorphic, and anthropomorphic features. Incorporating human ...
The Benin ivory mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of Idia, the first Iyoba (Queen Mother) of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of a traditional African mask. [1] The masks were looted by the British from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the Benin Expedition of 1897 .
African masks often represent a spirit and it is strongly believed that the spirit of the ancestors possesses the wearer. Most African masks are made with wood, and can be decorated with: Ivory, animal hair, plant fibers (such as raffia), pigments (like kaolin), stones, and semi-precious gems also are included in the masks.
The Bwa masks are usually black and white; additional colors are subject to individual carvers and their styles. Animal depictions are a common attribute of the works. Plank Masks are the most known style of masks for this society. they are vertically shaped and attached to a disk-like base.
Often strips of raffia, which are pieces of fiber from the raffia palm, are attached to the mask. The white color of these masks is associated with things like the spirits of ancestors, death, and male virility or manhood. [2] Most Ngil masks are an oval shape featuring a broad forehead with an elongated chin and nose.