Makonde Mask 4
Artist: Unknown Makonde artist
Name: lipiko helmet mask
Origin: Makonde people of Northeast Mozambique and Southern Tanzania
Made of: Wood (ntene), human hair, beeswax, pigment
Dimensions: H:10” (25.4 cm); W: 10” (25.4 cm); D:13.5” (34.3 cm)
From: Gift of Oliver and Pamela Cobb, 2011
Accession no. 2011-02-027
On display in the PLU’s Mortvedt Library (2nd floor)
Description: This is by far the largest lipiko in the collection. It is a dark gray mask, however it appears as if it once included some green as tints of green show through the black. The mask is that of a balding man with human hair wrapping along the bottom of the skull. The hair protrudes about 1 cm off the mask. The mask has a very large nose, eyes and mouth with two teeth on the bottom of the mouth. The ears are in the tabletop style. Along the base of the skull there is a rim that has holes all along it every 1-2 inches. The most unique part of the mask is the symmetrical scarification that is above the eyebrows, beside the eyes and on each cheek. Each scar is two parallel lines. Above the eyebrows they are U-shaped, beside the eyes they are up and down and on the cheeks they are an upside-down U.