Vintage HandCarved Wood African Tribal Mask "Bowed Man

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Vintage HandCarved Wood African Tribal Mask "Bowed Man

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Sold Date: 07/29/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

This Is A Rare & Unique Specimen of Exquisite Beauty and Expresive Artistry Seldom Seen.

Photos Can't Possibly do Justice To This Breathtaking Piece!

Huge solid, hand carved, very solemn and haunting specimen of a feature rich face and fully detailed "slave" figurine in a suggestive kneeling pose. Made from a single solid and sturdy wooden block, this piece of ancient art can be grasped from anyw without fear of causing breakage or damage. Mask has 9 holes towards rear of mask for various functions. 4 holes on each side of face and 1 on top of head.

Approximate dimensions are 20" tall x 7" "ear-to-ear" x 7" front to back.

To date the most striking mask of the collection, in our opinion. Probably an antique from early periods. Stern mask features with highly detailed face full of carvings in ritualistic forms. Realistic fit for wearing in ceremony or ritual dance and comfortable medium feel and fit. Fits the average face & great for mounting (wire loop is installed). UNIQUE TO THIS COLLECTION THUS FAR, THIS MASK HAS A WOODEN NECK/CHIN BAR FOR WEARERS SUPPORT.

Hand hewn wood from single solid block. VERY striking and detailed elongated facial profile with relatively tiny lips and cold narrow slit eyes, long slender nose. Tall forehead, beautifuly mounted with a crouching/bowing man with what appears to be a beard. Rich and smooth finish. Stuning overall dramaatic design. No age stress apparent in wood during careful inspection, attesting to the quality and build of this gorgeous unique older mask. See below for background info on item and previous owner.

This large ritual mask is from the lifelong collection of psycology 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. He also 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 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 of authority on these items and cannot guarantee authenticity of estate's claims of age or origin though we have done substantial research in the matter. Likewise, due to the nature of estate products, we are not responsible for overlooking or omiting details and flaws we may not...