ClassificationsAfrican Art

Cap Crest Mask

Place CreatedCameroon, Africa

Date19th-20th Century

MediumWood, pigment

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions36 5/8 x 15 3/4 x 9 5/8 in. (93 x 40 x 24.5 cm)

Object number1994.004.754

Label TextThrough large scale, aggressive imagery and exaggerated animal features such as teeth, eyes, and horns, this mask depicting a buffalo is a visually intimidating presence that harnesses the power of spirits from the wilderness as instruments of proprietary control in the realm of the town or village. The visual affect was only heightened during performance as buffalo masks appear in large groups, along with other animal and human character masks owned by men's title societies. All were an effective agents of the Kwifoyn society, an organization of elders and councilors who serve to support and balance the power of kings ruling the various kingdoms of the Grassfields region in Cameroon.
Exhibition HistoryCameroon Art: Selections from the Collection of William Arnett, The Art Gallery, Kennesaw State College, Kennesaw, Georgia, January 30 - March 22, 1989
Divine Intervention: African Art and Religion, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - December 4, 2011
Published ReferencesMarcilene K. Wittmer, Cameroon: An Exhibition of African Art from the Collection of William and Robert Arnett (Charlotte, NC: Mint Museum, 1977), 31, number 45b.
Cameroon Art: Selections from the Collection of William Arnett (Kennesaw: The Art Gallery, Kennesaw State College, 1989), 18, number 19.

ProvenanceEx coll. William Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia, from at least 1977.

Status

Not on view

Collections