But the mask turned out to be a rare piece of African art — a 19th-century Ngil mask used in rituals by the Fang people in Gabon, with only a handful of such pieces in existence. Only about a ...

For more than 20 years photographer Phyllis Galembo has traveled Africa and Haiti documenting the art of the masquerade. What is it about masks? “It’s the creativity,” says Galembo.