Hi,

I am looking for some help in establishing the provenance of some masks that I have which I believe may be Benin Guilds masks...Please find attached a scan of pictures taken of three masks that my grandparents, who lived in Nigeria for a while in the 1940s, possessed. There are also several smaller (less intricate) masks. They sent the photos of these masks to Sothebys in the 1970s who contacted the Director of the Museum of Ethnology, Hamburg, Professor Livermermann who replied(written notes by Grandmother) with the following:

"A.W.Fogg, the expert in Nigerian Art and History and probably leader of the British Museum in London wrote a book called African Sculpture(1962-63) Two other books are supposed to be excellent and are written by Frank Willett: 1. African Art(1971) and 2. The tradition of African Art(1967) All of these books are containing bibliographies which give further information about Art and History in Nigeria. Professor Livermermann is not allowed by law to tell anything about the price of pieces. he can only try to find out whether the masks are unalloyed, old and of great value from the point of view of an ethnologist. For this purpose he has to see the masks. Professor Livermermann suggested to contact Mr Fagg. He is sure this gentleman will give the best possible information"

I am in the very early stages of trying to find out about these masks. Could you give me an idea of where you think I could find some more information about them?

Many thanks,
Kind regards,

Sam Scott