230612 - Large Royal Ngoin Bamileke helm mask with glass beads - Cameroon.
Large Rare Royal Ngoin helmet mask with glass beads, Grasfields Cameroon.
Hand carved from a single piece of wood with glass beads.
Height: 30 cm.
Ngoin helmet mask - Bamileke / Tikar. Present in all the kingdoms of Cameroonian Grassland (Bafut, Bekom, Big Babanki, Ndop, Oku...) the so-called Ngoin masks belong to sets of masks exhibited during commemorative ceremonies organized in honor of illustrious deceased.
Each set, property of a particular lineage, can include more than 20 masks, generally of various shapes, but sometimes also of repetitive aspect. Some are compulsory, such as Kam (or akam), a male mask that leads the dance, or Ngoin who embodies Kam's first wife.
Other female masks can intervene, those of other wives or daughters of Kam. Beautiful piece, used ritually. Heavy wood, covered with glass beads. The style of this region is often rough, but we must admit that this object emanates great strength.