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The Niger Bend

A Selection of Our Best Items

Masks - Collector Quality

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$1200.00

Chekko leopard mask
photo of Chekko leopard mask item #731
Mali - Bamana

16 1/2", this mask is an authentic mask, having actually been made for and used in an important harvest dance ceremony in Mali. The interesting tradition of the Bamana of Mali is to make masks new every year just for the Chekko festival which takes place at harvest time. It celebrates renewal, new life, fertility and the continuity of the life of the village and the community. Please click on the image for another view of this great mask. See also item #256, another fabulous Chekko processional piece.
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$1950.00

Exceptional crocodile mask
photo of Exceptional crocodile mask item #761
Mali - Dogon

33" tall. This mask is the only one of its kind I have ever seen, in almost 30 years of traveling in Mali, buying Dogon art there. Please click on the image for a closer look.
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$1200.00

Fish top mask
photo of Fish top mask item #768
Mali - Bozo

30". The lives of the Bozo people are closely linked to the Niger River. This fish mask represents that association. The Bozo have not proliferated masks like many other African peoples which makes this one - the only one I have ever found - extraordinary. Please click on the image for 2 more views of this superb mask.
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$1950.00

Hippopotamus mask
photo of Hippopotamus mask item #224
Nigeria - Benoue

Please click on the image for a views of this mask on a base.
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$4900.00

Janus style mask
photo of Janus style mask item #679
Nigeria - Ikiti

This exceptional old mask measures 15 1/2" tall. Please click on the image for 2 other views of it.
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$2500.00

Long horn bull mask with birds and hornbill
photo of Long horn bull mask with birds and hornbill item #935
Mali - Bamana

44" tall x 20" wide
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$5000.00

Old buffalo mask
photo of Old buffalo mask item #756
Burkina Faso - Bobo

19". This is the most beautiful example of this genre of mask I have ever seen. Please click on the image for two more views of it.
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$1250.00

Old mask on stand
photo of Old mask on stand item #229
Ivory Coast - Yaure

This mask is from Beoumi, circa 1982. The overall mounted height is 19"; the mask itself is 11" tall.

Click the photo to see a full view of the mounted piece and another view of it.
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$1200.00

Pair of old masks
photo of Pair of old masks item #228
Nigeria - Ibo

9 1/2" tall. This male - female mask pair would have been danced by two people together, probably by two men since women virtually never participate in mask ceremonies as dancers, even when the spirit represented is female. The price is for the pair.
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$1250.00

Tall Chekko mask
photo of Tall Chekko mask item #256
Mali - Bamana

50" tall. Chekko is a ceremony held once or twice a year, always at harvest time in the Fall and sometimes at planting in the Spring. There is a procession featuring masks made exclusively for the ceremony that year; after that year they are discarded. Chekko masks from one year to the next vary greatly. There is a wide variety of their designs from village to village and from year to year. Therefore this Chekko processional mask is not old, having been used for only one Chekko, but it is genuine, not made for sale. Please see item #731, another beautiful Chekko object, a mask worn in the same ceremony. Please click on the image to see another view of this exceptional object, to get a better idea of its size.
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$1250.00

Warrior mask
photo of Warrior mask item #770
Ivory Coast - Dan NGuere

17 1/2" tall. The people who use this mask are also known commonly as We (or Wee), Kran, Guere (or Guerre), Please click on the image for 2 more views of this powerful mask.
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$3900.00

XL mounted mask
photo of XL mounted mask item #755
Burkina Faso - Bobo

33 3/4" tall, including the base. Please click on the photo for 2 more views of this exceptional piece.
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