Bamileke mask. Cameroon, Grassland.

Bamileke mask. Cameroon, Grassland, first half of the twentieth century.
In carved wood.
Attached expertly carved Primitive Art.

Provenance: J. Guardiola Collection, deceased in the 1960s. Family relations would indicate that J. Guardiola acquired this piece, among others, from his relative and explorer, Luis de Lassaletta between 1943 and 1951. Lassaletta (1921-1957) was a renowned Spanish expeditionary to Africa in the 1950s. Lassaletta was a brilliant connoisseur of West Africa, speaking several indigenous languages of present-day Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon, Congo and Nigeria.

Bibliographical references:- Tamara Northern, The Art of Cameroon, Washington, 1984.- Tamara Northern, Expressions of Cameroon Art: the Franklin Collection, Los Angeles, 1986.- Warren M. Robbins and Nancy I. Nooter, African Art in American Collections. Survey 1989, Washington and London, 1989.
Measurements: 47 x 23 x 28 cm., 54 cm. high.

Bamileke mask, in carved wood in the form of a smiling face, with a "helmet" type hairstyle, protruding eyes with a molded profile and half-open lips, between which small teeth protrude.