Abstract
Opening ParagraphAmong the vast range of subjects found in African sculpture, the representations of Janus occupy an important position, primarily for purely artistic reasons. On the whole, African sculptors chiefly excel in their treatment of single figures, be they masks or statues. Each piece of work which is more than one figure is in itself a notable advance on the usual African style. Now there are Janus masks which in their formal structure are chefs-d'œvre of African sculpture and, indeed, of all primitive art. A number of these come from the Cross River district. It is not only, however, because of their artistic form and powerful expression that these masks are interesting. Again and again men have racked their brains in order to solve the problem of their inner meaning, and have risked the most daring hypotheses, as is shown in the book by R. Karutz, Das Rätsel des Janus (1927, Basle): I shall discuss this critically at the end of this article.
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