Mask "lukungu" · D. R. Congo, Lega · ID: 3033396
Description
ivory, natural grains visible, inset eyes and mouth, tribe-typical circle ornaments with central drilling, drilled holes around the rim (with remains of plant fibre cord), min. dam., fissures through age, on wooden base;
“lukungu” masks belong to members of “bwami”- society who already have reached the highest rank of kindi. “Lukungu” means “skull” and should be a hint that the mask is thought to remind of deceased “kindi” members. At initiation ceremonies they were oiled and then displayed on a kind of fence or attached to bigger “muminia” or “idimu” masks.
The object Mask “lukungu” with the object ID 3033396 was last part of the auction 70th tribal art auction at September 8, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 415.
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Comparing literature
Hahner-Herzog, Iris, Das Zweite Gesicht, Genf, München, New York 1997, p. 93 f. Cameron, Elisabeth L., Art of the Lega, Los Angeles 2001, p. 216 f.