Hello, this item is a West African carved wooden helmet mask, probably Nigerian and likely Yoruba or Yoruba-influenced, with cowrie shell decoration, painted facial details, an oval face, white eye surrounds, and an upper figural crest. The form relates to Gelede-type or related masquerade traditions, where masks often combine a human face with symbolic upper structures, though the photographs do not allow a firm tribal attribution beyond a general Nigerian or West African origin.

The mask appears 20th century, probably mid to late 20th century, with age, surface wear, pigment losses, and some patina, but without documented field collection history, museum provenance, or evidence of major age. The auction purchase in Portugal supports prior market circulation, but not ritual authenticity by itself. As a decorative ethnographic mask with cowries and good visual presence, it has market appeal, though it sits below the higher-value category of documented early tribal art.

Fair Market Value: $300 - $700 USD