Kumu mask - SOLD OUT
Avant-garde forms on African primitive arts
This wooden mask, made from a dense, fine grained wood, displays a geometric forms typical of the Kumu people. The mask has a rounded forehead and the brows are high and arching. The eye holes are small and square with the nose being long and straight. The mouth is also square shaped and has small pegs of wood to represent he teeth. The left hand side of the mask is painted in black pigment with a series of lighter pigment dots to the surface.
Masks, such as this one, are used by the Nsembu divination society during the initiation ceremonies when boys are circumcised. Masks are the most important possessions of the Nsembu and are used to call upon the ancestors. As part of the ceremony, hallucinogenic drugs were taken that allowed the practitioner to enter into a trance and thus communicate with the spirit world.
01283
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Mid XXth century
- Size
- 38 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
- Origin
- Tribal Art Collection United States
- Condition
- Excellent
Avant-garde forms on African primitive arts
This wooden mask, made from a dense, fine grained wood, displays a geometric forms typical of the Kumu people. The mask has a rounded forehead and the brows are high and arching. The eye holes are small and square with the nose being long and straight. The mouth is also square shaped and has small pegs of wood to represent he teeth. The left hand side of the mask is painted in black pigment with a series of lighter pigment dots to the surface.
Masks, such as this one, are used by the Nsembu divination society during the initiation ceremonies when boys are circumcised. Masks are the most important possessions of the Nsembu and are used to call upon the ancestors. As part of the ceremony, hallucinogenic drugs were taken that allowed the practitioner to enter into a trance and thus communicate with the spirit world.