A Chamba Nam-gbalang Helmet Mask...

Description

A Chamba Nam-gbalang Helmet Mask
Nigeria/Cameroon, early 20th century

Wood, blackened with charcoal and from age, a collar of bundled cane tied through holes around the perimeter of the neck. This Nam-gbalang (aka Lang-gbanda) mask has an eyeless rounded dome head, symbolizing a skull or ancestral relic, and backward-curving horns, their tips nearly touching, representing the forest buffalo. It has a small nose contrasting the dramatically large, flat open mouth representing a crocodile. The large helmet mask creating a striking expression of power and presence. In good condition, high points rubbed, minor scrapes and abrasions, some pigments in the crevices, stains, and soiling. With a metal stand.

"Nam gbalang" signifies the "wild animal" spirit, reflecting the Chamba people's reverence for the dangerous, untamed forces of nature and their ancestral connections. The mask is typically worn atop the head, accompanied by a costume made of raffia that covers the performer's body. When not in use the Nam-gbadang masks are stored in a hut outside of the village where they are to be seen and worn only by initiated men.

Provenance:
Loudmer-Poulain, Arts Primitifs, Paris, June 19 & 20, 1980, lot 236
Ex-collection: Marietta College Museum, Ohio
Ex-collection: Phillip Budrose, Boston, MA

Published online at African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre (AHDRC) #0089985

Length: 26 inches

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