Mask · D. R. Congo, Salampasu · ID: 3047254

Name: Mask
SKU: 3047254
Availability: Discontinued

not available anymore

Provenance

Ben Hirsch, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Size

H: ca. 50 cm (with beard)

H: ca. 19.7 inch (with beard)

Description

raffia (“mufuampo”),

Traditionally, masks of the Salampasu belong to a broad range of male societies and associated initiation sub-societies.

Most often masks are related to the so-called warriors society “mu(n)gongo”, which served mainly to protect the Salampasu agianst invasions from rival clans or other external forces.

To become a member of “mu(n)gongo”, Salampasu boys must be circumcised and pass through its various initiation sub-societies. Each initiation sub-society has an associated mask type which the boys gain access to upon completing the initiation level and paying an initiation fee.

The object Mask with the object ID 3047254 was last part of the auction 95th Tribal Art Auction at October 24, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 291.

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.