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Mask (mbap mteng): Elephant (aka)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The name given to masks like this, mbap mteng , means "animal with huge ears." In the Cameroon Grassfields kingdoms, the elephant signifies power, authority, prestige, and leadership. The colorful glass beads that decorate the mask’s surface were imported from Venice and Bohemia (in Europe) and signal wealth and prosperity. Its geometric patterns include triangles that evoke the leopard, another animal linked with royal power. Members of Kuosi , an elite male society, wore such elephant masks for ritual dances and funerary ceremonies.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineMask (mbap mteng): Elephant (aka), early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Cameroon, Grassfields region, Bamileke-style maker. Cotton, burlap, glass beads, twine, leather, and wood; overall: 139.7 x 50.8 x 19.1 cm (55 x 20 x 7 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund, 1985.1082
