Yela mask
Rarities in the traditional art of the Congo
Superb African mask with a vertically striated face. This is an initiation mask worn by the Yela people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was believed for a long time that the artistic corpus of this ethnic group was devoid of masks, it is only belatedly that copies have been reported. Indeed, the initiations taking place outside the village, the masks were worn and then thrown into the bush, the settlers did not bring them back before the 1970s. According to some authors, these masks were worn in pairs during initiation sessions.
01875
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Mid XXth century
- Size
- 35 cm
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood
- Country
- Origin
- Tribal art collection Belgium
- Condition
- Excellent
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Rarities in the traditional art of the Congo
Superb African mask with a vertically striated face. This is an initiation mask worn by the Yela people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was believed for a long time that the artistic corpus of this ethnic group was devoid of masks, it is only belatedly that copies have been reported. Indeed, the initiations taking place outside the village, the masks were worn and then thrown into the bush, the settlers did not bring them back before the 1970s. According to some authors, these masks were worn in pairs during initiation sessions.