130 FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 (above, left to right): Mask. Nepal. Late 19th century. Wood, white clay, fur. H: 26 cm. Photo: Pietro Notarianni. Ceremonial mask. Central western Nepal. Late 19th– early 20th century. Wood, pigment, wild pig pelt. H: 32 cm. Photo: Pietro Notarianni. “Fish-eater” mask. Western Nepal. Late 19th– early 20th century. Wood, pigment. H: 32 cm. Photo: Pietro Notarianni. FIG. 7 (left): Covers of the books on the Lanfranchi collection, Stili del Potere and Kris Hilts. FIG. 8 (right): Colored mask. Nepal or Tibet. Late 19th–early 20th century. Leather, polychrome. H: 27 cm. Photo: Pietro Notarianni. organizing the publication of a large-format book with almost 400 pages and 200 color photographs of masks, most of which have never been published before. It will be co-authored by Renzo Freschi, who knows this material well and will explain how these objects were discovered in the latter part of the twentieth century and became collectors’ items in the Western world. T. A. M.: You’ve had an ongoing interest in Himalayan masks for many years, yet they are so different from the classical character of the kris, for example, or your classic Hemba fi gure. Can you explain what appeals to you in these masks? L. L.: I think I can defi ne myself as an eclectic collector of art. I don’t like schemes that are too rigid, and within the realm of tribal art I am attracted to and fascinated by the classic aspects of, say, the Hemba or Baule sculpture. The opposite is equally attractive —the brutal power of a Kongo nail fetish, for example—as long as they are all of great quality. After having sold most of my collection, I didn’t want to repeat the same path. I considered it a closed chapter and wanted to explore new avenues and feel new stimuli. Nepalese masks were (and still are in some ways) the “Cinderella” of primitive art: little known history, few exhibitions, few specialists, TRIBAL PEOPLE a great satisfaction to produce. I had produced another book in 1989 on my collection of Kissi stone sculptures from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia called Stili del Potere (Styles of Power) with text by Aldo Tagliaferri, the main specialist in this fi eld, and to this day it remains the main reference on the subject. I also kept a small collection of primitive Himalayan masks that I had acquired from Roberto Gamba, an extravagant character with sensitive antennae who started me off on this latest branch of my adventure. Eventually I saw more material, such as the collection of Marc Petit. Truthfully, as you well know, collecting is a virus for which there is no cure! I have reached a point where it seems logical to create a historical document on this Himalayan collection as well, and I have been busy
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