Mask panel
D. R. Congo, Songye
| Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
|---|---|---|
| B. H. Collection, Antwerp, Belgium Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 10 September 2005, Lot 360 |
H: 18.5 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, colour pigments,
Traditional mask panels known as "kalengula" bear carved faces in the form of "kifwebe" masks.
The mask face superimposed to this board-like panel, on the other hand, reminds of the heads of "nkisi" fetish figures of the Songye. Especially of those with peculiar laughing mouths, as they are located by Neyt in the northern Milembwe, Belande and Eki region (Neyt, 2004, p. 56).
One of these figures was attributed by de Grunne to a "master from Muyemba" (de Grunne, 2001, p. 181, fig. 22).
The present mask panel is decorated with concentric incised lines forming a kind of diadem above the face and two arms with joined hands below, enclosing a stylised "kifwebe" mask face. For an iconographically comparable object, see AHDRC 0041476.
