African Masks

African masks hold an undeniable allure, mesmerizing people with their intricate designs and deep cultural significance. These enigmatic artifacts have captivated art enthusiasts, historians, and collectors across the globe. In this blog post, we embark on a captivating journey into the world of African masks, unravelling their secrets, symbolism, and the awe-inspiring stories they tell.

Interesting facts

African tribal masks do not represent real people, dead or alive, or even animals, when they take on the form of animals. Moreover, when an individual wears an African mask, they no longer possess their own personality. Instead, a spirit occupies the mask and whatever the wearer does or says is attributed to the spirit of the mask. These spirits are often dead ancestors or even the spirits of individuals not yet born. Mask wearing is a vital part of African secret societies and life cycle rituals. 

Pablo Picasso was enthralled by the African tribal masks he saw at the Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadéro in Paris when he visited in 1907. He began collecting African masks himself and they served as inspiration for some of his paintings over the next few years. 

Picasso was hardly alone in his passion for African masks. The list of artists who collected African masks reads like a who’s who of the heavyweights of the art world in the early 20th century. They include Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Man Ray, Jackson Pollock, Edvard Munch.