TSESAH CREST/BATCHAM MASK


Tsesah Crest
Batcham. Wood. H: 53 in/135 cm
Provenance: Sculptor Jean Tassop; Ex Royal Palace Rifum

This Batcham mask joins the very limited inventory of royal ceremonial masks from the Bamileke culture in the western Grasslands of Cameroon. This uniquely tall crest (135 cm in height) has clearly defined features, a powerful yet calm visage, sharply chiseled diamond and triangular furrows, and nearly perfect symmetry. Such painstaking craftsmanship underscores the sophistication and control of the sculptor in preparing this ceremonial piece.

The crest shares many of the basic elements of Batcham masks identified by Bamileke researchers (Paul Herter, Jean-Paul Notué, Claude Tardits, and others), including:

  • The general morphology is built on two axes: a symmetrical vertical axis with chiseled furrows, stylized eyes, lips, nostrils, mouth and teeth; a horizontal axis presenting swollen cheeks, an ovular mouth showing multiple teeth, and triangular ears supported on a hollow cylindrical base. The masks depict a hippopotamus emerging from watery depths, conveying nature’s power conferred to enthroned royalty.

  • The masks were dedicated for use in specific ceremonial functions, including harvest celebrations, funerals, and the coronation of village leaders.

While production of the crests centered around Bandjoun—and, more recently, from the workshop of sculptor Paul Tahbou—isolated workshops across the Bamileke region produced a wide range of variants using these basic morphological elements. This mask was created for the royal leaders of a small village near Mbouda, in the department of Bamboutos. The Nsop society of Bandjoun Kah assigned the task of producing the mask to Jean Tassop, the immediate cousin of Paul Tahbou. Following its creation in the mid-1970s, the mask was subsequently transferred and protected in the Royal Palace in Rifum.

Chief Mongbet Vessah Ibrahim and David W. Reed