Makonde Face Mask

The Makonde are best known for helmet masks, but most masks collected in the Makonde area prior to 1914 were so-called “half-masks” which covered the face only. This mask is of a much later vintage, of course, having been exported from the region only around 2000. Unlike early masks, it hews to a more realist rendering of the human face and a fine finishing of the surfaces. The carver of this mask was almost certainly a full-time, professional sculptor; the symmetry and quality of the work are simply too refined for the individual to have been a part-timer. Makonde and Makua half-masks are typically kept on the performer’s head by way of a hood of recycled textile tacked to the perimeter of the mask. Depending on the size and configuration of individual masks, the dancer may typically either see out of the actual eyes, or, as here, the mouth. In the case of this particular mask, the cloth hood was not tacked to the mask, but rather tied onto it by way of a string or lengths of palm fiber. The peg-like protrusion on the top of the mask and the raised rim around its perimeter, helped hold the hood and its binding in place, thus securing the mask during performance. $400

10″ H

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