MASQUE, MAMBILA, CAMEROUN |

Masque, Mambila, Cameroun

Collection Luis de Lassaletta (1921-1957), acquis in situ ca. 1945
Collection J. Guardiola, Barcelone, acquis avant 1951
Transmis par descendance

Very good condition overall. Thin hairline cracks to the proper right side of the face to the cheek and forehead. The slightly abraded wood surface reveals the beautiful veins of the wood. Consistent scratches to the rear of the headdress and a vertical open crack running along, to the reverse, on the supporting part. The rest of polychromy shows beautiful red color of the wood and some rest of Kaolin.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Les Mambila vivent au sud du massif de l’Adamaoua, de part et d’autre de la frontière entre le Nord-Ouest du Cameroun (au nord du pays Bamum) et le Nigeria (vallée de la Benue et ses environs). Puisant leur inspiration dans ces deux styles majeurs, les artistes Mambila ont créé un corpus de masques singuliers, essentiellement connus aujourd’hui grâce à l’exemplaire conservé au musée Barbier-Mueller (inv. n° 171). D’une absolue modernité, ces masques kiavia se caractérisent par l’audace expressionniste de leurs traits, accentuée par la dimension picturale des aplats à la polychromie tranchée. Apparaissant à l'issue des cérémonies suaga qui marquaient la fin des deux cycles annuels de plantation et de récolte, ces masques présentent une iconographie unique. Le visage, suggéré par un champ concave cordiforme d’où surgissent les yeux tubulaires et le nez à l’arête exceptionnellement étirée, se prolonge par une bordure inférieure dans laquelle s’inscrit la bouche, langue apparente. S’ajoute l’élégante crête sommitale qui conclut la structure dans un jeu complexe de courbes convexes et concaves. Chaque élément du visage est ainsi relié par un système étudié de correspondances et d’équilibre auquel répond la polychromie. « La peinture brun-noir, blanche et rouge, typique des productions mambila, souligne la légère asymétrie des traits tout en renforçant l’expressivité du visage. […] L’utilisation de la précieuse poudre de bois rouge, importée des forêts de l’Ouest, pourrait symboliser la solidarité des lignages, comme dans le Grassland voisin » (Hahner-Herzok, Kecskési et Vajda, L’autre Visage. Masques Africains de la collection Barbier-Mueller, 1997, p. 154).

Transcendant cette conception plastique remarquable partagée par l’ensemble des masques kiavia, cette œuvre s’impose par la présence d’une double paire d’yeux. Cette rare caractéristique iconographique se retrouve sur la sculpture féminine Mambila de la collection Daniel et Marian Malcolm (Schweizer, Visions of Grace: 100 Masterpieces  from the Collection of Daniel and Marian Malcolm, 2014, p. 122, cat n° 46). Suggérant le savoir omniscient de la figure ancestrale, « cette iconographie insolite accentue la vitalité expressive de la figure, douée d’une incroyable intensité émotive » (Bassani, Le grand héritage, 1989, p. 266).

The Mambila live south of the Adamawa Plateau, on both sides of the border between North-West Cameroon (north of Bamum) and Nigeria (Benue Valley and surrounding areas).  Drawing their inspiration from these two major styles, Mambila artists created a corpus of unique masks, best known today through the example held at the Barbier-Mueller museum. (inv. n° 171). In their radical modernity these kiavia masks stand out for the expressive boldness of their features emphasized by the pictorial dimension of the coloured planes and highly contrasting polychromy.

These masks appeared at the closing of suaga ceremonies that marked the end of the two annual cycles of planting and harvesting, and display a unique iconography. The face, represented by a concave heart-shaped field from which the tubular eyes and and the nose with its exceptionally elongated ridge emerge, is extended into a lower edge where the mouth, with its discernible tongue, appears. The elegant topmost crest rounds off the structure in a complex interplay of convex and concave curves. Each element of the face is thus connected in a deliberate system of correspondences and balances echoed in the polychromy. "The dark brown, white and red paint, typical of Mambila productions, emphasizes the slight asymmetry of the lines while reinforcing the expressive power of the face. [...] The use of the precious red wood powder, imported from the forests of the West, could symbolize the solidarity of the lineages, as it does in the neighboring Grassland" (Hahner-Herzok, Kecskési and Vajda, L’autre Visage. Masques Africains de la collection Barbier-Mueller, 1997, p. 154).

Transcending the remarkable visual design shared by all kiavia masks, this work is exceptional for the presence of a double pair of eyes. This rare iconographic feature is also found on the Mambila female figure from the Daniel and Marian Malcolm collection (Schweizer, Visions of Grace: 100 Masterpieces from the Collection of Daniel and Marian Malcolm, 2014, p. 122, cat No. 46). Suggesting an omniscient knowledge held by the ancestral figure; Bassani states "this unusual iconography accentuates the expressive vitality of the figure, imbued with an incredible emotional intensity" (Bassani, Le grand héritage, 1989, p. 266).