Máscara elefante - Bamileke - Camerún

This mask belongs to the Kwos'si society, a warrior society that is, in a way, the king Fo's general staff. Its members are the most powerful and wealthy in the Gung. Each one wears as formal dress a black hood made of a local fabric called Mque and embroidered with colored glass beads forming geometric patterns, over an ensemble consisting of a blue batik skirt and four or five skirts tied at the waist. The complete mask was part of the treasure of a lineage of chiefs and was only lent out during the ceremonies of certain “secret societies.” Their dances are the most spectacular of all the Bamileke.

Provenance: Padres Blancos missonaires
Argiles collection