"TU NKUM MPELET" MASCULINE HELMET MASK BAMUM - Cameroon Hard wood, old brown and honey patina, shiny in places, beautiful traces of carrying. Height = 45 cm, width = 28 cm Provenance : Former Bernard BORGNE collection, Sahara specialist and author of numerous works on Africa. Some of the masks are helm masks: among the BAMUM, the large cheeks are quite rare and never reach the development they have with the BAMILEKE. The decoration stylizes the earth spider or the frog; the former is used for divination and symbolizes wisdom, the latter symbolizes fertility. Other common decorative elements are the bat, the chameleon or the buffalo. Worn during the nja festival, this highly expressionistic mask with its bulging eyes, blunt nose and full lips is typical of the palace style of the late 19th century. A beard once encircled the chin, and an openwork headdress in the shape of a mitre mpelet, composed of a triple round of overlapping buffalos, symbolizes strength, power and virility. These masks were only worn during royal festivities held within the palace walls; they were stored in an enclosure set aside for the purpose and guarded by two initiates."