Not Currently On View in Intersections

Object Name: Crest mask, bird
Cultural Group: Kom or Oku peoples
Place of Origin: Western Grassfields, Cameroon
Date: 19th-20th century
Materials Used: Wood, kaolin, wire, vegetable fiber
Dimensions: H: 19.3 cm, W: 23.0 cm, D: 56.0 cm (H: 7.6 in, W: 9.1 in, D: 22.0 in)
Credit line and Accession Number: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Melvin Silverman. X80.809

Kingdoms of the Cameroon Grassfields have exercised social control through regulatory societies ever since the precolonial period. Among the most important of these is the Kwifoyn society. Ranked lineages, all of which owned and performed with masks, have also had their own regulatory societies. Members use a variety of zoomorphic masks to convey authority and to symbolize their powerful positions in performances. These masks take the form of animals such as a buffalo, a hybrid bovine-human, and an elephant, which are typically associated with royalty. The bird mask was worn with a dramatic feather robe and sat atop the head of the wearer, whose face was concealed by a fiber covering.

Gallery text, Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives, 2006