Anthropomorphic mask "mfondo" · D. R. Congo, Lwalu (Lwalwa) · ID: 3051724
sold
EUR 3,200
Provenance
Lucien Van de Velde, Antwerp, BelgiumKarl-Ferdinand Schädler, Munich, Germany (ca.1970)
Ludwig Schmidt, Munich, Germany (1973)
German Private Collection, Munich
Size
H: 30 cm
H: 11.8 inch
Description
wood, pigments,
The facial representations of the Lwalu are composed of purely geometric elements, sharply angled planes and smooth unadorned surfaces. Mask forms are distinguished from one another through the prominent noses that were inspired by the beaks of different birds.
Masks “mfondo” were worn at dances to celebrate the circumcision and initiation of young men into the “ngongo” society and to appease the spirits that control hunting.
Publications
Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Afrikanische Kunst in Deutschen Privatsammlungen, München 1973, S. 341, ill. 491AHDRC: 0033276