Fair Trade Camerounian Brass Face Mask

Handcrafted of recycled brass using the "lost wax" method of casting at an artisans' cooperative in Bamenda, Cameroun, this face mask is a miniature adaptation of the traditional masks that were worn along with feather headdress hoods and cloaks in ceremonial dances such as death celebrations, harvesting and planting ceremonies and other annual festivities by village societies. More realistic than the wooden masks, this mask nevertheless exhibits the common stylistic features of the region--the birds symbolic of prestige.  This brass alloy was made from recycled metal.