A wooden antelope mask from the legacy of Amidou Kouandou, Grand Imam and notable of ministerial rank in the Sultanate of Foumban, Cameroon, who died in 2014.

1. Form

The collection catalogue singles out the sweeping design of the mask, which it considers the work of a highly talented carver. It points to comparable carvings with the same elegantly elongated heads and muzzles, a shared feature that supports the attribution discussed below.

2. Attribution

The late Grand Imam was in close contact with the carver Fai Mankoh from Oku. On that basis, and because comparable pieces by this carver exist, the catalogue presumes that the mask was a personal creation of Fai Mankoh or of one of his sons. It is presented as a reasoned assumption, not as a documented fact.

3. Provenance

The mask comes from the estate of Amidou Kouandou, who held ministerial rank as a notable in the Sultanate of Foumban. It passed from the household of a patron who knew the carver personally.

Summary

An antelope mask with elongated head and muzzle from the estate of a Foumban notable, presumed to be by the Oku carver Fai Mankoh or his sons.