Male maskette of the "bwadi bwa kifwebe" society ·  D. R. Congo, Luba, Kabinda territory · ID: 3043466

Description

wood, light and blackish brown patina, kaolin, striking narrow in form, massive worked, slightly dam., abrasion of paint.
A picture of present mask can be found in old papers from Jean Willy Mestach’s files (compare AHDRC 0030686-004). According to AHDRC this type of masks was often collected between 1900 and 1930.
A work by the same master is illustrated in a feature on Kifwebe maskettes of the Luba and Songe (see Tribal Art Magazine, Spring 2008, p. 111, Fig. 20) and was attributed to the “Lubangule”. The so-called “Lubangule” are a Luba subgroup, who live in the southern part of Kabinda in the province of Katanga, bordering the Luba-Kasai (see map). The works collected in this region exhibit a mixture of Luba and Songe styles and are often referred to as Luba/Songe.
Masks like the present one are called “masque du case” (“hut masks”). They were not danced and therefore had no holes on the rim for costume attachment. They were probably suspended from the ceiling of a hut.
Luba “kifwebe” masks are generally benevolent anti-sorcery masks, used mainly for the purposes of purifying and protecting the community from malevolent spiritual forces by employing the aid of the ancestors.

The object Male maskette of the “bwadi bwa kifwebe” society with the object ID 3043466 was last part of the auction 88th Tribal Art Auction at March 10, 2018 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 436 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,500.

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.

Comparing literature

Woods, Davy, Kifwebe Maskettes of the Luba and Songye, in: Tribal Art Magazine 48 (2008), p. 102-112

Publications

AHDRC: compare 0041018, 0041019