GothamGallery Fine African Tribal Art - Tanzania Makonde Lipico Tribal Mask - A

Description

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Striking Tanzania Mozambique Makonde Lipico Helmet Mask
Measurement:        Height:   11.00  Inches
Measurement:        Height:   28.00  Centimeters
Measurement Mask Only
Material:                 Wood, Pigment, Hair
Estimated Age:       Early 20th Century
Condition:               Good
Remarks:                 Stylized mask of helmet form realistic features polychrome finished aged surface
This mask represents a member of the Sikh Religion from India Punjab.  Many Sikhs from the Punjab moved to Africa during the British colony days in the early 20th century to help with the railway infrastructure and the civil service in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda regions.
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CONDITION
Wood deterioration, scrapes and chips, age cracks, lost of pigment, worn areas, overall condition good. Thank you and please view my other items.
BACKGROUND
Inhabiting the southeast of Tanzania and the northeast of Mozambique are the Makonde, divided into matrilineal clans, each one comprising several villages. They survive economically from farming and occasionally, cattle rearing. Makonde carvers are prolific producers of masks, statues and decorative objects. The most famous are the Lipico masks, which are used to mark a boy’s initiation into adulthood. Lipico is the name that Makonde men give to the masker of their masquerading association, who is brought from the bush into the village for initiation celebrations. The dances are accompanied by an orchestra of drummers. These masks have realistic features and are often decorated with scarification marks. They are carved with light balsa-like wood and are always worn with a cloth. The lip plug suggests that it is intended to represent a woman elder.
Painter Fred Uhlman words - Most of the artists I admired, Picasso, Modigliani, Deraini, to mention only a few, had collected African art and had been profoundly influenced by it. Shortly afterwards I bought the Baule Fetish and the Baule bobbin which are still two of the finest pieces in my collection. It is easy to see why I bought them and why from that moment I have never stopped collecting. The head of the bobbin or heddle - pulley which is after all only a functional object for the purpose of weaving seemed to me then and today as beautiful as a Greek goddess. The fetish moved me as deeply as the bobbin by its silent tragic dignity and its air of profound meditation.
GUARANTEE
AUTHENTICITY AND CONDITION OF ITEMS ARE GUARANTEE TO THEIR DESCRIPTION. IF THE ITEM IS FOUND TO BE NOT AS DESCRIBED OR PICTURED, FULL REIMBURSEMENT OF THE WINNING BID AMOUNT AND SHIPPING CHARGE WILL BE GIVEN.
QUESTIONS
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SHIPPING
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PAYMENT
PAYMENT ACCEPTED - PAYPAL