What Does It Say About Its Wearer, That Noble Bearer?

On display, it's been described as a burial-head mask. Or a mask that's been worn, during some annual festival- of African origin made in the second half 19th century what does it say about its wearer, that noble bearer? Well, it involves a mixture of subjects' figures. Indicating community involvement, what we have is a prisoner, a preacher, a musician, and a soldier. So could the bearer be a man of some importance a speaker, maybe he was a mayor, a judge you know—a justice of the peace and such. These carved persons, look cheerful so I guess it must have been carved out of precious wood garlanded with leaves around the base a bespoke piece commissioned for a communal event. What's more, it's pigmented richly with iron and gold. So here we have a mask that's outlandish in style, yet the bearer must have held a position of kingly authority and acquired an enormous amount of respect it looks primitive, yet its theme is contemporary it tells of a tell-tale story of shared humanity. That's little in common or parity with us in the West today.