Female mask "La belle Madeleine" · D. R. Congo, Luba / Zela · ID: 3048663

Name: Female mask "La belle Madeleine"
SKU: 3048663
Availability: Discontinued

not available anymore

Provenance

Hilde & Lavuun Quackelbeen, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium

Size

H: 37 cm

H: 14.6 inch

Description

wood, kaolin, red and black paint,

According to Felix, these masks are called “La belle Madeleine” by the locals and are supposed to embody a Catholic nun or else “Mama Maria”, the Virgin Mary herself. Like the female ancestor spirit masks, “La belle Madeleine” is an idealised representation of a woman.

The arrival of Christian missionaries and nuns proves that this exotic-looking mask form could only have been developed in the last quarter of the 19th century. It is possible that these new icons of women replaced older images of idealised women.

The object Female mask “La belle Madeleine” with the object ID 3048663 was last part of the auction 98th Auction at March 26, 2022 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 290.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.