Mask "kifwebe" · D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3034864
Jan Lundberg, Malmö, Sweden
Description
wood, kaolin, black paint, plant fibre beard and remains of a costume, pierced around the rim, min. dam., slight 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 3034864 was part of the auction 73rd tribal art auction on May 25, 2013. The object with the lot number 414 achieved a sales price of EUR 7,000 with an asking price of EUR 6,000.
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.