Masque "kifwebe" · R. D. Congo, Luba · ID: 3040416
Description
wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, hollowed round form, large eyes with sickle-shaped see slits, square-shaped protruding mouth, rep. (breakage at the bottom), slight traces of abrasion, fine cracks;
such masks were danced at the death of a chief or other eminent person, or when a person assumed an important political title. The etymology of “kifwebe” is “to chase away, or put to flight, death”. Such a sense would be appropriate to a further context for their use: in the rituals of the “kazanzi” society, through which sorcery is confronted and eliminated from the community. Complex costumes of animal skins and raffia were worn, and the masks were danced in couples, one representing the male spirit, the other a female. One surmises that the masks were performed to mark moments of important social transition and transformation.
L’objet Masque “kifwebe” avec l’ID d’objet 3040416 a fait partie de la vente aux enchères 83rd Tribal Art Auction le 28 mai 2016, numéro de lot 420 et est actuellement disponible pour 5 000 € en Vente libre.
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Littérature comparée
Herreman, Frank, Petridis, Constantijn (ed.), Face of the Spirits, Tervuren 1993, p.158, ill. 76 Neyt, Francois, Luba, Aan de Bronnen van de Zaire, Paris 1994, p. 203