Mask "kifwebe" · D. R. Congo, Songye · ID: 3046086
not available anymore
Provenance
Hermann Sommerhage, Duisburg, GermanySize
H: 46 cm
H: 18.1 inch
Description
wood, plant fibre, base
This variant of a “kifwebe” mask of narrow form and with a broad striped pattern in black, white and red, is located by Marc Leo Felix to the eastern Songe, which live along the Lualaba river.
“Kifwebe” masks basically depict supernatural beings, such as ancestor spirits “katotoshi” visiting their descendants. They belong to an association which bears the same name, “bwadi ka bifwebe”.
Comparing literature
Felix, Marc L., Beauty and the beasts, Brussels 2003, p. 43, ill. 24a