Round mask "kifwebe" ·  D. R. Congo, Luba · ID: 3047846

Description

wood, pigments, rest.

A comparable mask, possibly by the same artist, illustrated on the cover of the publication “African Negro Sculpture”, University Museum Bulletin, 1957 (Vol. 21, No. 4).

Such masks were apparently danced at the death of a chief or other eminent person, or when a person assumed an important political title.

One surmises that the masks were performed to mark moments of important social transition and transformation. The etymology of “kifwebe”, “the name of the spirit”, is “to chase away” or “put to flight, death”.

The object Round mask “kifwebe” with the object ID 3047846 was last part of the auction 96th Auction at April 24, 2021 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 310 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,500.

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

Roberts, Mary Nooter, Memory, New York 1996, p. 86 f. "African Negro Sculpture", University Museum Bulletin, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1957, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Cover)