Cameroon: Bamileke
The major artworks of Cameroonians come from the Bamileke people who live in the grasslands.
The works which are in wood,
include ancestral figures, seats of different types and masks.
Their works are very expressive, although they have an unfinished look.
the works are freer than those of other cultures and their artists stand out distinctively as masters of Expressionism.
The ancestral figures are very forceful and have more of the disdain of finish than the other works.
The figures are mostly carved on door frames and verandahs of houses of ancestral cults or altars of the community.
They, therefore, serve as architectural figures.
The masks are less forceful and have tortured forms which are
characterized by a proliferation of volume in space. The most
famous among them is the Keaka mask representing a forest spirit.
The mask has four different faces which are in low relief and seer from all angles.
Some of the seats are elaborately carved and are strictly reserved for the use of certain notables and chiefs.
Such seats, usually chairs, are composed of both animal and human figures which are used as the legs and resting places of the chairs.
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