Mask "kifwebe" · D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3033260
sold
EUR 2,500
Provenance
Leopold Häfliger, Lucerne, SwitzerlandRené David, Zurich, Switzerland
Harald & Ursula Suhr, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada / Germany (1982)
Size
H: 50 cm
H: 19.7 inch
Description
wood, black, white and red paint, of elongated narrow form, eyes and mouth widely projecting to the front, extensive disc-shaped forehead crest, covered with fine linear grooves, pierced around the rim, min. dam., fissures, slight traces of abrasion;
representing the male “kifwebe” type “kilume”. The “kifwebe” masks embody a spirit being and belong to an association which bears the same name “bwadi ka bifwebe”. The mask is supplemented by a plaited costume and a long beard of raffia fiber. It used to appear at various ceremonies, with the function of a security force or for warding off enemies in cases of war.
Comparing literature
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, ill. 88