Mask helmet - Kongo

This mask was acquired as Kongo. Black mask with a smooth spherical head, without any markings on the hair, with the crown full of small holes that do not penetrate to the inside; very arched eyebrows, broad and wide, covering the entire width of the face; sunken eye sockets with protruding almond-shaped eyes edged in white, with painted pupils, one in white with the iris in red and the other in red with the iris in black; very large and wide nose with very wide nostrils, with large holes to the inside (giving the impression that the wearer sees through them); protruding rounded cheeks; slightly protruding, schematic, elongated mouth, without lips, closed and with the interior painted red; it has no chin and the
Ears are large, very protruding, semicircular in shape with the interior painted white and a marked throat.
Painted red. The mask features a broad white line painted across the forehead and nose. The small holes in the Crown could have been used to hold bird feathers to create a headdress, similar to some well-known Vili masks.
The overall impression of the mask is one of realism, simplicity, and great expressiveness. According to Anne-Marie Bouttiaux-Ndiaye, 'the circular incisions on the forehead and on the head are reminiscent of certain features of the Ndunga of the Kongo Woyo.' Ndunga masks are agents of social control that act as a secret police force.

Provenance: Berthe Hartert collection
Argiles collection, Barcelona