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Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
art_history_animalia@historians.social ("Art History Animalia") wrote:
For #WorldElephantDay:
#Elephant masks
Blue cotton cloth, colored beads
Red cotton cloth, glass beads
Bamiléké people (Cameroon)
Field Museum display
#AfricanArt
“Members of secret societies- exclusive groups of men charged with maintaining the peace & safety of the kingdom - wore these elephant masks during rituals.”
“Elephants represented royalty in the sacred or precious objects of Grassfields peoples…objects made from elephant hide or ivory were always reserved for fon (Grassfields kings).
Attachments:
- photo of the elephant mask display at the museum - both masks side by side (vertical designs with long trunks), with sign on top right: “Elephants were royal animals Members of secret societies- exclusive groups of men charged with maintaining the peace and safety of the kingdom - wore these elephant masks during rituals. Notice the circles that make the elephants' ears and the fancy beadwork that creates their long, flat trunks. Images of elephants represented royalty in the sacred or precious objects of Grassfields peoples, as well as in many other African kingdoms. Grassfields kings, or fon, adopted the elephant as one of their royal animals. Objects made from elephant hide or from ivory were always reserved for fon.” (remote)
