Mask "kifwebe" ·  D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3032752

Description

wood, black paint, kaolin, typical form, coated with fine linear grooves, pierced around the rim, min. dam., minor missing parts, traces of abrasion;
dense parallel striations on the face and the lack of a comb prove that this mask is of female type, called “kikashi”. They represent positive powers and are mainly used at masquerades taking place at night, for example at important moon ceremonies, or in case of the death of chief.

The object Mask “kifwebe” with the object ID 3032752 was part of the auction 69th tribal art auction on June 2, 2012. The object with the lot number 433 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,800 with an asking price of EUR 2,500.

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.