Miniature mask "lukwakongo" · D. R. Congo, Lega · ID: 3033284
sold
EUR 1,500
Provenance
Sotheby’ s New York, 20 January 1982, lot 310Harald & Ursula Suhr, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada / Germany
Size
H: 16,5 cm
H: 6.5 inch
Description
light-weighted wood, kaolin, typical heart-shaped facial plane with elongated nose ridge, drilled holes in the chin area for attachment of a raphia beard, slightly dam.;
Lega masks are marks of rank within the different levels of initiation in the “bwami” society. There are five different mask types: “lukwakongo”, “kayamba”, “idimu”, “muminia”, and “lukungu”. Young men received the “lukwakongo” masks during the “yananio” rites. These masks were the most important insignia of rank until the owner moved to the higher level of “kindi” and trades his wooden mask for an ivory one, called “lukungu”.
Comparing literature
Cameron, Elisabeth L., Art of the Lega, Los Angeles 2001, p. 198