Rare skull mask · D. R. Congo, Vili · ID: 3041911
sold
EUR 5,500
Provenance
Alexander Pollmer, Munich, GermanyThomas Schulze, Berlin, Germany
Klaus-Jochen Krüger, Hamburg, Germany
Size
H: ca. 20 cm
H: ca. 7.9 inch
Description
human skull, natural gum, wood, mirror glass, white and black pigment, nose sculpted in wood, tubular cavities modelled around eyes and ears, filled with magical charges and sealed with mirror glass, remains of teeth, lower jaw missing, base;
the skulls were initially buried for a relatively short period, then exhumed to be decorated. Like the numerous Vili-Kongo “nkisi” fetishes, they bear magical charges in cavities. But up to nowadays there is only little information about the preservation and ritualization of the extremely rare skull masks.
Comparing literature
Doustar, Martin, Golgotha, The Cult of skulls, Beveren-Leie 2014, p. 26