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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 crafted from gourds. [3] Then they are carved out of wood for use, and painted with contrasting colors. [4] The colors used had symbolic meaning and were sometimes repainted, symbolizing rebirth, or to restore the power of the mask. [4] They are also decorated with sacred objects known as nkissi. [5]
Mapiko masks are worn during the rites of passage of circumcised boys. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] These wooden masks have been carved by master craftsmen, [ 3 ] made of soft wood and sometimes feature human hair. They represent human heads and may feature labrets or scarifications.
Their masks were often masterpieces of carving, sometimes with movable jaws, with the parts sometimes moved by pulling cords, or a mask within a mask to represent a magical transformation. The carving of masks was an important feature of woodcraft, along with many other features that often combined the utilitarian with the symbolic, such as ...
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 ...
Replica of Neolithic mask. A masquerade ceremony (or masked rite, festival, procession or dance) is a cultural or religious event involving the wearing of masks.The practice has been seen throughout history from the prehistoric era to present day.
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 .
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]