SONGYE, Democratic Republic of the Congo - Lot 162

SONGYE, Democratic Republic of the Congo Kifwebe dance mask featuring a face of cubist proportions, entirely decorated with incised scarification marks evenly distributed over the entire surface. The large, round, almond-shaped eyes are half-closed, giving the expression an interiorized quality. The bridge of the nose extends across the top of the forehead, structuring the verticality of the face. The quadrangular mouth is adorned with a cruciform motif. The whole is distinguished by the contrast between the ovoid mass of the head and the elongated, downward-curving chin, accentuating the formal tension of the composition. Wood, remnants of white pigments, old brown patina, marks of use, broken glue on the upper back. This mask is part of the Kifwebe corpus associated with the rituals and performances of the Kifwebe society. It can be associated with the so-called feminine types, recognizable in particular by the absence of a sagittal crest, unlike the masculine types, which have one. These formal distinctions do not reflect a hierarchy of values, but rather complementary symbolic registers, articulating interiority, restraint and balance within a ritual system carried out by initiated men.