African ritual and ceremonial masks are usually made of wood and have holes along the sides where string or cord was used to hold the African mask in place. These holes can be used to mount the African mask on a display stand or hang on a wall. You could simply run a string or wire through the holes of the African mask to hang it, or mount it on a display base with an armature. The metal wire follows the inside perimeter so it cannot be seen through the openings in the mask such as the eyes and mouth. The wire goes into a hole on each side of the African mask to hold it in place. It looks better to bend the post where it comes to the bottom of the African mask back and away from the mask, then down to the base. This will add dimension and keeps the post back from the mask. The display base is commonly made of metal or other materials can be used such as acrylic or wood. Custom mounting for African masks can range from $80 to $400 depending on quality of the display mount and size of the mask. Our custom division, 10-31 Inc., has been mounting African masks for over 30 years. They carefully mount the African mask with just the right proportions and finesse giving it a very clean look.
Another alternative for making African mask displays is to do it yourself. Art Display Essentials has stock “T”-arm displays that can be used to make an African mask stand. They come as a basic “T” shape that you can bend the arms down and place into the side holes. The height of the post could be adjusted although you would need a hack saw or bolt cutters to cut through the ¼” steel. You can see these “T”-arm African and tribal mask stands here:
http://www.artdisplay.com/mask-stand.html

Some African masks cover both head and face or full headdress. These may be easier to mount by using a base with a post and a fitting on top. The fitting is sometimes custom shaped to correctly fit the African head piece. There are also stock bases for this situation as well at  Art Display Essentials. These stock items can also be used for helmets, hats and other items of that nature. They can be seen here: http://www.artdisplay.com/helmet-hat-stands.html

Other masks, including masks that are not African, may be made of metal like copper or bronze; or stone such as jade or steatite. The stock stands may or may not work with these depending on size and weight. However, a custom mount can be made by 10-31 Inc.

How to hang African masks on wall

The same bending approach used for the African mask display shown above can be used to hang an African mask on the wall. The "T" are available without the base, so instead of the post going down to a base it could go to a metal plate. If you used a metal plate with screw holes like pictured above you would have to solder or weld the post to the plate. You could also use a wooden wall plate that you could drill a hole in on a downward angle for the post to tightly fit into.

African Mask

African masks are typically used for rituals and ceremonies and are also a popular collector’s item, also seen in galleries and museums.  Some African mask types are: Baule Mask, Biombo Mask, Bwa Mask, Dan Mask, Goma Mask, Kota Mask, Kwele Mask, Ligbi Mask, Lulua Mask, Lwalwa Mask, Pende Mask, Punu Mask, Senufo Mask, Teke Mask, Woyo Mask, Yohure Mask.

The stock T-arms can also be used for many other Artifacts such as: usahbtis, celts, etruscans, coreform glass, bronzes, Egyptian, Roman, and Greek artifacts, faience pieces, amulets, jades, terra cotta figures, byzantine, olmec, and mezcala figures, pre columbian, mayan, aztec artifacts and so on.

Tribal Masks for Sale:

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