Ngonde - Tanzania

Like most masks from this region, the mask has a dry patina on light-coloured wood. The forehead is narrow in relation to the length of the mask; the brow ridges form a fleur-de-lis with the nose; the eyes, which have very elongated and rounded upper eyelids, are half-closed over a semi-elliptical opening; the nose is very long, narrow and schematic; the mouth, open, without lips, is of a rounded elliptical shape; the chin is long and pointed, covered entirely with small inlays of ivory or bone in an X-shaped pattern; the openings of the mouth and eyes are outlined with red pigment; from the middle of the chin there is a beard made of fibre. They were worn during initiation ceremonies.

Provenance: Padres Blancos missionaries
Argiles Collection, Barcelona