Large Impressive African Makonde Wood Carved Mask. The Makonde are an ethnic group in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique. The Makonde developed their culture on the Mueda Plateau in Mozambique. At present they live throughout Tanzania and Mozambique and have a small presence in Kenya. The Makonde population in Tanzania was estimated in 2001 to be 1,140,000, and the 1997 census in Mozambique put the Makonde population in that country at 233,358, for a total estimate of 1,373,358. The ethnic group is roughly divided by the Ruvuma River; members of the group in Tanzania are referred to as the Makonde, and those in Mozambique as the Makonde. The two groups have developed separate languages over time but share a common origin and culture. Provenance: Ethnographic Tribal Museum Collection (See Auction Catalog Description). Some Lots Have Been On Exhibition And Have A Custom Made Metal Stand Specifically Designed To Fit The Work. Estimated more than 75 yrs. old. African art is a term typically used for the art of Sub-Saharan Africa. A few of the most popular traditional African art was produced by the tribal people of the Fang, Dan, Baoule, Dogon, Senufo, Makonde, Bambara, and San. Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other natural materials that have not survived from earlier than a few centuries ago; older pottery figures can be found from a number of areas. Masks are important elements in the art of many peoples, along with human figures, often highly stylized and in vast variety of styles. Sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo rivers. Direct images of deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular were made for religious ceremonies. Later West African cultures developed bronze casting for reliefs, like the Benin Bronzes, to decorate palaces and for highly naturalistic royal heads from around the Yoruba town of Ife, in terracotta as well as metal, from the 12th to 14th centuries. Akan gold weights are a form of small metal sculptures produced over the period 1400–1900; some apparently represent proverbs, contributing a narrative element rare in African sculpture; and royal regalia included impressive gold sculptured elements. Many West African figures are used in religious rituals and are often coated with materials placed on them for ceremonial offerings. Eastern Africans, in many areas shorter of large timber to carve, are known for Tinga Tinga paintings and Makonde sculptures. There is also tradition of producing textile art. Modern Zimbabwean sculptors in soapstone have achieved considerable international success. Southern Africa's oldest known clay figures date from 400 to 600 AD and have cylindrical heads with a mixture of human and animal features. (Wikipedia) Size and/or Weight: See Measurement Photo. (Photos Represent The Lot Condition, Pangaea Auctions)

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