Beautifully hand carved. From Gabon’s Bakota tribe, part of the Bantu ethnic group. Many of these masks are made to enhance fertility and/or add luck with hunting and other ventures. They are also known for their historic, highly stylized ancestor/saintly reliquary figures/ masks /containers. This mask could easily serve both purposes
The specific mask was hand carved by a tribal artisan for a Bakota relic collector friend of mine in the early 1970s. The collector certainly kept this mask in pristine condition. It’s been in my personal colletion since 1998.
Circa late-1900’s. Pristine condition. Stand not included. 18.5″ tall x 9″ at widest