Brooklyn Museum: Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands: Male Face Mask

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Male Face Mask

Among the Fang and many other African peoples, the spirits of the dead are associated with the color white. Ngon ntang masks (the term means "head of the, white young girl") are wom by men in dances, connected to the Byeri ancestor cult in which they are used to portray the spirits of dead maidens.

This style or type of mask is recognized as one of the African sculptures that most influenced European artists at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Culture: Fang (Betsi subgroup)
Medium: Wood, pigment
Place Made: Gabon
Dates: 19th century
Dimensions: 11 1/8 x 7 x 2 1/4 in. (28.3 x 17.8 x 5.7 cm)
Collections: Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands
Museum Location: This item is on view in African Galleries, 1st Floor
Accession Number: L2005.2.6
Credit Line: Lent by the Beatrice Riese Collection
Image: Overall, L2005.2.6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Catalogue Description: Colored male face mask with carved coiffure, scalloped design above forehead, small pierced eyes, simple flat curved nose, and carved teeth. Much of white clay pigment has been abraded.

Collections: Arts of Africa and the Pacific Islands: Male Face Mask