A wooden helmet mask, 40 cm high, with a broad, calm face: the almond-shaped eyes and the slit mouth are outlined in red, the nose is heavy and the ears are large. The head carries a woven cap decorated with cowries, feathers and a small carved head, and fibre hangs down at the sides.

1. Form and Decoration

The mask comes from the family of the carver Fai Mankoh Njong in Ngashie, Oku. The face is carved in broad, rounded planes with open, almond-shaped eyes, a modelled nose with large nostrils and a slightly parted mouth, all framed by fine red lines. Large, rounded ears stand out at the sides. A band of fibre, small shells and attached elements runs across the brow, and a few red beads are set into a leather piece above the nose. A coiled, woven cap with cowries, feathers and a small carved head on top completes the headpiece.

2. Use and Context

The collection records the mask as a fetishist's helmet mask. It is made to be worn over the head, with an open base, and the woven cap and the attached cowries, feathers and beads form part of the mask as it was worn.

3. Surface and Condition

The wood has a dark, smooth, lightly worn surface, with a vertical crack running through the face and the mouth and drying cracks near the base, where the lighter wood shows at the edge. Red pigment survives around the eyes and mouth. The fibres and attached elements are dry and darkened.

Summary

This helmet mask from the family of the carver Fai Mankoh Njong has a calm, red-outlined face and a woven cap decorated with cowries, feathers and a small carved head.