Vintage African Mali Tribal Mask 8 horns wood metalwork

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Vintage African Mali Tribal Mask 8 horns wood metalwork

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Sold Date: 08/31/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

Second to Last Large Mask of the Collection! Authentic Vintage Bamana Ntomo mask.

This Bamana Ntomo mask was worn by boys as they passed through the early cycle of initiation into manhood including the circumcision of the penile foreskin. The masks reinforce the lessons the boys are taught as they are prepared by elder males in the society for circumcision. The vertical projections may represent stalks of grain and are a symbol of prosperity. Some masks have as few as 2 projections while the wealthier & more powerful wore as many as eight like this one we are now offering.

A very similar mask is on display at the gallery of San Jose State University. go to these 2 links to view it:

/exhibits/african/africaexhibit/imageswitharrows/bamanantomo.html

/exhibits/african/africaexhibit/imageswitharrows/ntomolinkingh.html

Huge Mali Mask. One more large mask after this and were done. Also 1 more large hat & one firespitter & then we move on to the fetishes and icons and the framed and mounted antique maps and the vintage books & other records and paraphenalia from this same estate) It has been a great experience selling to professional collectors, galleries and private collectors these unique and exotic masks! This one is from the greatest ones so we left it to list towards the end of the collection.

Approximate dimensions are 25¾" tall x 11" wide x 5¼" front to back. 4 holes toward rear of mask for raffia, accesories or mounting.

A most remarkable and unique mask. Is very old. Artistic sculpting and metalwork. Great fit for wearing in ceremony or ritual dance. Moderate weight feel and fit. Sturdy & can be handled without concern of damage. See below for background info on item and previous owner.

This stuning ceremonial or ritual mask is from the lifelong collection of psychology professor Dr. Samuel Klayman. Professor Sam Klayman, whose lonely & tragic life ended a few months ago as a very old man, was a long time collector of authentic African ritual items and voodoo & witchcraft pieces. Even the furniture of his apartment was in the majority rough handcrafted collection pieces from Africa. Every wall in his home was covered from the cieling till midway to the floor with hundreds of ritual masks, icons and figures some with extreme erotic conotations. Along with these masks he collected an extensive amount of authoratative books on this subject as well as thousands of first print science fiction and horor novels. He had a great many ancient maps mounted in frames which we will be posting once we finish selling the many masks from his estate. All masks that we will now be selling are exclusively from Doctor Klayman's private collection. Doctor Klayman of Quentin Rd and Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn, NY spent a large amount of his life in this final residence of his and given his lifelong handicap and reclusive manner he persued his hobby with great passion and we are perpetuating his love for these artifacts by selling them in the hope that they will be preserved by new owners who value these items as he so lovingly did. We hope to add more of his collection to ebay in the next few weeks and will indicate that they are from this exclusive collection. Please note that we are in posession of the entire collection at this time and have exclusive access to the vast majority of the estate. Only one mask was held by another individual who sold it a while back on ebay without disclosing its origin. We will endeavor to give as much information as to the history of the masks as well as the owner's bios. The interior carving or hollowing is obviously indicative of exclusive hand carving & with perhaps primitive tools. While the doctor posessed a large collection of ancient coins and stamps the entire collection was stolen immediately after his demise and efforts to recover them were futile. Please be aware that due to the fact that we deal almost exclusively with prestigious estates with a variety of collections we cannot profess to being any type...