BAMILÉKÉ, Cameroon, 20th century. - Lot 237

BAMILÉKÉ, Cameroon, 20th century. Dance hood featuring an elongated head, framed by two large circular ears. The eyes, nose and mouth are strongly modeled in relief. The whole is covered with a dense beaded decoration, organized in registers of geometric motifs dominated by interlocking diamond compositions, punctuated by crosses and oblique lines. The contours of the face and ears are emphasized by red fabric forming a structuring frame. Red and blue fabric, multicolored beads, wear marks. Height Height : 120 cm. Used for ceremonial dances, this hood is part of the vast corpus of Bamiléké masquerades associated with prestige, authority and symbolic forces. The richness of the beaded decoration underlines the rank of the patron, while the presence of saurians, animals associated with regeneration and protection, reinforces the apotropaic dimension of the ensemble.