Anthropomorphic face mask · D. R. Congo, Eastern Bembe, Buyu / Nyindu · ID: 3048535
sold
EUR 900
Provenance
probably James Willis, San Francisco, USAZemanek-Münster, Würzburg, Germany, 12 May 2007, Lot 360
Size
H: 27 cm
H: 10.6 inch
Description
wood, kaolin, base
The Bembe live in the south-east of the former Kivu Province, an area where different cultural traditions meet. Knowledge about Bembe culture and art is scanty.
In general, it can be said that the morphology of the Bembe masks is related to the Lega, which can be clearly seen in the present mask.
M. L. Felix published a mask in 1989 that combines stylistic traditions of the Lega and Bembe and which he located among the Nyindu (Felix, 1989, p.100, Fig. 23 and AHDRC 0014932).
Comparing literature
Felix, Marc L., Maniema, München 1989, p. 100, Fig. 23 Herreman, Frank & Constantijn Petridis (ed.), Face of the Spirits, Tervuren 1993, p. 183
Publications
AHDRC: 0014933