Mask "kifwebe" · D. R. Congo, Luba · ID: 3033058
Rudolph de Ruijter, Katlijk, The Netherlands
Michel Gaud, Saint Tropez, France
Description
wood, kaolin, black and blue pigments, presumably depicting a monkey (baboon?), nice detail: eyebrows made from real hair, pierced around the rim in two rows, min. dam., fissures, slight traces of abrasion;
since the mid-1980s some variations on the typical “kifwebe” masks appeared. The classic rectangular box shape and the grooved pattern receded, while attributes of certain animals were added.
The object Mask “kifwebe” with the object ID 3033058 was last part of the auction 69th tribal art auction at June 2, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 406 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,330.
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Comparing literature
Felix, Marc L., Beauty and the beasts, New Jersey 2003, p. 77, ill. 99