A mask for high-ranking members of the Bwami society of the Lega, in eastern Congo. For men of the two highest ranks of the Bwami, known as ‘kindi’ and ‘yananio’ (for a more detailed explanation cf. cat. no. 173).
This ‘idimu’ face mask is carved from lightweight, light-coloured wood and coloured white in its entirety with kaolin clay. The mask displays the features characteristic of the Lega: a tall oval with a heart-shaped face that cups towards the middle, almond-shaped coffee bean eyes carved in relief, with a long, narrow, flat nose and a small mouth. The present specimen features small superficial holes as ornamentation along the front outer edge of the mask and the edges of the characteristic heart-shaped face. A beard made of old, light-coloured plant fibres is attached to the chin and both cheeks. A piece which has visibly been used for a long time, with colour scuffing to exposed areas, two old small breakages to the upper and lower edge of the mask on the reverse, and a noticeable shiny usage patina to the correct areas of the inside on the reverse. An old inventory number in white lettering on the lower rim at the back.
Height: 32 cm; width: 15.5 cm. First half of the 20th century. (ME)

Provenance: South African private collection.

Lit.: ‘L’art des Lega’, catalogue of the Musée du Quai Branly Paris, ill. 29, 44.