Mask "mfondo" ·  D. R. Congo, Lwalwa · ID: 3033294

Description

wood, blackish brown patina, white paint, of hollowed oval form, raised protrudings in the area of the temples, pierced around the rim, min. dam., minor missing parts, cracks, slight traces of abrasion;
the small hole underneath the nose was used for attachment of a string, serving to hold the mask with the teeth and fix it in front of the face. These masks were used for initiation of the young boys of the “ngongo” society as well as for fertility- and hunting rites.

The object Mask “mfondo” with the object ID 3033294 was last part of the auction 70th tribal art auction at September 8, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house and had the lot number 421.

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.

Comparing literature

Herreman, Frank, Petridis, Constantijn (ed.), Face of the Spirits, Tervuren 1993, p. 103