Mary Vickers and neighbour Doris Fildes with the masks

AN expert in African artefacts has delivered his verdict on a stunning collection of masks dumped in the garden of a Westhoughton couple.

Dr Bill Hart from the University of Ulster has revealed the masks -- left to Malcolm and Mary Vickers in a will by a man they met 12 years ago in Africa -- are not from Zimbabwe as originally thought but are in fact from the southern half of the Congo.

The academic, author of a number of African art books, also revealed the reason they smell of smoke: the tribes which used the masks would have hung them around a fire to ward off termites.

The couple are currently approaching a number of auction houses to sell the masks, some of which are up to three feet high and adorned with animal skin, and they invited Dr Hart to their home to view the items.

The masks once belonged to a collection held by a surveyor and amateur explorer called Major Ian Kelsey who retired from the Indian army in 1898.

He had travelled throughout the African continent, bartering with the local natives for a mask or a piece of wood in each of the locations he visited.

And according to Dr Hart, the person who owned the collection is an important factor in assessing the value of the masks.

He said: "Often the value depends not on the qualities of the masks but whether they originally came from a famous collector.

"Some people don't have a lot of confidence in their own judgement so when somebody well-known has a collection it is seen as more valuable and recognised."

Dr Hart said he could not be sure what influence the explorer would have on the price of Mr Vickers' masks without researching Major Kelsey's background.

But he said in the African communities the masks would have held much value. He added: "The masks would have been used for initiations when boys were taken into the bush and prepared for manhood.

"The bush is believed to be home to many wild and untamed spirits and the creatures that inhabit the area are seen as uncivilised.

"The masks give the boys protection."

Asked why some of the masks contain animal skin and what appears to be human hair, Dr Hart answered: "Power. Animal skin can be an indication of wealth and from wealth you often get power.

"Very often a mask will be representative of a king or a chief."

The masks are made of soft wood which makes them light enough to wear but also leaves them susceptible to damage.

Some of the masks in Mr Vickers' collection, however, are made using copper and brass.

Dr Hart said: "These are seen as metals associated with chiefs. Gold is seldom used in masks but are usually more popular in ornaments in areas around the Gold and Ivory Coasts."

Similar items to the Vickers' masks have fetched up to 33,000 dollars each in past auctions giving the collection an estimated value of anything up to half a million pounds.

Marlon Jackson, brother of famous singer Michael, has expressed an interest in buying the masks.