Ngil Initiation Mask

late 19th century

African Art

On view, 1st floor, African Art

Fang masks in various styles became principle icons for twentieth-century primitivism in modern art and were highly sought after by collectors. This work was part of a major gift to the Yale University Art Gallery in 2006 of 586 works of tradition-based African art from the estate of Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933. Benenson's important collection is very distinctive, reflecting his personal taste for bold, aggressive, and unusual pieces. It also included an impressive inventory of works whose ingenious sculptural form would have inspired early European modern artists. Amassed largely in the 1970s and 1980s, at the pinnacle of the African art market in the United Stated, Benenson's collection vividly documents what kinds of artworks circulated at the time.

Medium

Wood, pigment, and nails

Dimensions

16 1/4 × 8 13/16 × 7 1/2 in. (41.2 × 22.4 × 19 cm)

Credit Line

Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection

Accession Number

2006.51.89

Geography

Gabon

Culture

Fang

Period

19th century

Classification

Masks

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
“Mr. Laporte,” Créon, Gironde, France [see note 1]; sale, Flagel-Portier, Hotel Drouot, Paris, December 7, 1926 lot 51 (Frs. 1,750.-); sold to “Mr. Lefebvre” [see note 2]. Entwistle and Co. (Lance and Roberta Entwistle, dealers), London, by 1982; sold to Charles B. Benenson (1913—2004), Greenwich, Conn., 1982; bequeathed to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2004
Note 1: According to the auctioneer’s book for the December 7, 1926 sale. (Sale minutes, M. Portier, Hotel Drouot, Paris, December 7, 1926, courtesy Archives de Paris, Paris, copy in curatorial file) Mr. Laporte almost certainly refers to Monsieur Laporte, “Grand Propriétaire, Château Neuf, Créon.” (Annuaire de la Gironde et des départements circonvoisins, 76e année, 1927, Bordeaux: Gounouilhou, 1927)
Note 2: According to the auctioneer’s book for the December 7, 1926 sale. (Sale minutes, M. Portier, Hotel Drouot, Paris, December 7, 1926, courtesy Archives de Paris, Paris, copy in curatorial file) The identity of “Mr. Lefebvre” is at present unconfirmed.
Bibliography
  • Frederick John Lamp, Amanda Maples, and Laura M. Smalligan, Accumulating Histories: African Art from the Charles B. Benenson Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2012), 123, ill
  • Barkley L. Hendricks, "Acquisitions, July 1, 2005–June 30, 2006," in "Photography at Yale," special issue, Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2006), 222
  • Flagel-Portier, Paris, Art Primitif, Afrique, sale cat. (December 7, 1926), lot 51, ill
Object copyright
Copyright Undetermined
Additional information

Object/Work type

ceremonial objects, masks (costume)

Technical metadata and APIs

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