Mask "idimu" · D. R. Congo, Lega · ID: 3032243
collected in situ 1936 by her father; he got it from Pene Misenga, the District Chief of Schabunda in the Maniema region.
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Description
wood, dyed with kaolin, now darkened, remains of dark brown accents, punched scarification marks, notches around the mouth, grassfibre beard, slightly dam., missing part at the left rim, crack;
Lega masks fall into the category of “bwami” initiation objects. There are five different types: “lukwakongo”, “kayamba”, “idimu”, “muminia”, and “lukungu”. They serve as an important marks of rank, identifying the owners as members of specific “bwami” levels. The “idimu” mask is owned collectively and is kept by an appropriate member of “yananio” or “kindi”. In a major performance , the “idimu” mask is hung from a fence surrounded by the smaller, individually owned “lukwakongo” masks.
The object Mask “idimu” with the object ID 3032243 was part of the auction 68th tribal art auction on March 3, 2012. The object with the lot number 222 achieved a sales price of EUR 8,500 with an asking price of EUR 1,500.
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
E. L. Cameron, Art of the Lega, Los Angeles 2001, p. 178 f.