Superb mask - Mbole (No reserve price)
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Superbe masque Mbole, a carved wooden mask from the Mbole people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
The M’bolé ethnic group
The Mbolé live on the left bank of the Zaïre River, in the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their number is estimated at around one hundred fifty thousand individuals.
The Mbolé villages live autonomously and are led by a chief elected from the elders of each family. They mainly live off the cultivation of cassava and rice, the latter assigned to women, and hunting, carried out by men.
Three societies structure the life of the Mbolé: the Ekanga, reserved for healers, the Otuku, for the wives of chiefs, and the Lilwa society, which controls most rites of social and religious life, from circumcision to death, through various initiation ceremonies. The leader of this society, known as isoya, plays such an important role in the life of villagers that after his death they bury him in a tree and keep his hut empty as a sign of respect.
Masks and Statues Mbolé
The Mbolé are best known for their statues of hanged figures with heart-shaped faces.
The mbole masks are rare and worn only during circumcision ceremonies or for the funerals of a dignitary of the Lilwa society. Oval in shape, they evoke a human face and are covered with pigments.
The M’bolé ethnic group
The Mbolé live on the left bank of the Zaïre River, in the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their number is estimated at around one hundred fifty thousand individuals.
The Mbolé villages live autonomously and are led by a chief elected from the elders of each family. They mainly live off the cultivation of cassava and rice, the latter assigned to women, and hunting, carried out by men.
Three societies structure the life of the Mbolé: the Ekanga, reserved for healers, the Otuku, for the wives of chiefs, and the Lilwa society, which controls most rites of social and religious life, from circumcision to death, through various initiation ceremonies. The leader of this society, known as isoya, plays such an important role in the life of villagers that after his death they bury him in a tree and keep his hut empty as a sign of respect.
Masks and Statues Mbolé
The Mbolé are best known for their statues of hanged figures with heart-shaped faces.
The mbole masks are rare and worn only during circumcision ceremonies or for the funerals of a dignitary of the Lilwa society. Oval in shape, they evoke a human face and are covered with pigments.
Details
Indigenous object name
Superb mask
Ethnic group/ culture
Mbole
Material
Wood
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Good condition
Height
37 cm
Width
22 cm
Depth
12 cm
