A cast bronze helmet mask, 110 cm high, from the Mayap chiefdom in the Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon. Under a lattice headdress with a lizard-like animal, a smooth face with puffed cheeks looks out above a thick raffia fringe.

1. Form and Casting

The face is smooth and rounded. Wide eyes with raised rims, a broad nose, and an open mouth showing a row of teeth sit below a band across the forehead. The cheeks swell into two large, full spheres, and round ears stand out at the sides. Above the band, the head carries a domed headdress of open lattice, in which the bronze is cast as a web of interwoven strands. On top stands a lizard-like animal with a ridged back and a curved tail, seen in profile in the side view. A thick fringe of raffia hangs from the neck and falls over the shoulders.

2. Use and Context

According to the collection catalogue, bronze masks of this size are rather rare in the chiefdoms of the grasslands. By wearing this mask at ritual events, the chief of Mayap, Ngoupayou, could make his power and stature clearly visible to everyone. The catalogue adds that the territory of this chiefdom reaches almost to the plains of the Tikar, who are famous for their bronze casting, and that it is therefore quite possible that the mask was made by a Tikar.

3. Surface

The bronze is dark brown with a smooth, polished sheen on the face, with warmer, reddish tones on the cheeks. The lattice and the animal on top are darker and less glossy. The raffia is a light, dry brown.

Summary

A large bronze mask from Mayap with a smooth face, lattice headdress and lizard figure, worn by the chief to show his power at ritual events.