Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wood, kaolin, pigment
12 3/4 x 6 5/8 inches (32.4 x 16.8 cm)
Provenance: Alan Mann, London
The face is a shallow dome carved with close parallel striations that spring from the median ridge and follow the curve of the cheeks out to the perimeter. A hooked ridge runs from the low crest down the center of the face to meet the mouth, which projects forward as a squared box with a slot across its front, while the eyes are cut as narrow closed slits beneath heavy swept brows. White kaolin covers almost the whole surface with dark pigment held in the nose ridge, the brows, and the mouth, and a row of small pierced holes runs around the rim where the costume was attached.
Masks of this kind belonged to the bwadi bwa kifwebe society among the Songye of the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose performances were bound up with social control and with the authority of the ruling elite. The dominant white surface and the low crest are the features associated with the kikashi, the type danced in the gentler register, as against the high crested kilume used for aggressive display. The striations are cut evenly across the entire face, and the wear along the rim and the high points of the brow is consistent with use rather than with finish alone.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wood, kaolin, pigment
12 3/4 x 6 5/8 inches (32.4 x 16.8 cm)
Provenance: Alan Mann, London
The face is a shallow dome carved with close parallel striations that spring from the median ridge and follow the curve of the cheeks out to the perimeter. A hooked ridge runs from the low crest down the center of the face to meet the mouth, which projects forward as a squared box with a slot across its front, while the eyes are cut as narrow closed slits beneath heavy swept brows. White kaolin covers almost the whole surface with dark pigment held in the nose ridge, the brows, and the mouth, and a row of small pierced holes runs around the rim where the costume was attached.
Masks of this kind belonged to the bwadi bwa kifwebe society among the Songye of the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose performances were bound up with social control and with the authority of the ruling elite. The dominant white surface and the low crest are the features associated with the kikashi, the type danced in the gentler register, as against the high crested kilume used for aggressive display. The striations are cut evenly across the entire face, and the wear along the rim and the high points of the brow is consistent with use rather than with finish alone.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
