Bamun Portrait Mask with Human Hair Cameroon

Identified with the Bamun, this mask shares stylistic traits with the Bamileke or even with the Tikar and other Western Grasslands peoples, reflecting the complex transfer of style through trade and the migration of artists. This mask is a strong and well-crafted example of the art of Cameroon and carries symbolic meaning as well as an aesthetic reflection of the artistically sophisticated Bamun people. The art of the grasslands area of Cameroon is a royal art, devoted to the veneration of ancestors and the enrichment of the Fon, or main chief. The Cameroon Grasslands is a large and extremely diverse cultural area, inhabited by a large number of related peoples. The main groups are the Bamilike, Bamum, and Bamenda Tikar. The Bamileke are one of the artistically elite groups of the Cameroon Grasslands, along with the Bamun and the Bamenda Tikar. These groups produce an array of beautiful and unique objects, which are used almost exclusively by the royal courts of the regional Fon. There