Rare skull mask ·  R. D. Congo, Vili · ID: 3041911

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.

Littérature comparée

Doustar, Martin, Golgotha, The Cult of skulls, Beveren-Leie 2014, p. 26