Kakungu - Lula-Nkanu - DR Congo
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Selected by Dimitri André
Holds a postgraduate degree in African studies and 15 years experience in African art.
Estimate € 450 - € 500
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Kakungu mask from Lula-Nkanu, D.R. Congo, mid-20th century, 55 cm high, in good condition; provenance Berthe Hartert collection, Argiles Collection, Barcelona; sold without stand.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
This mask was surely worn by the guardian of the initiation ground. An extraordinary
large mask with a white face, elongated oval shape with a broad forehead divided almost in two by the
pointed entrance of the hair scheme and the tip of the enormous triangular and schematic nose; eyes
cut in half by a thin, elongated slit, the upper part of which is edged
in blue and the lower part in red, running all the way to the inside, located within sockets that frame them
and have, at the bottom, three vertical slits per eye (as in the Hemba masks of the
northern Suku); it has a kind of rectangular protruding mouth with vertical slits painted
blue across its entire width; it has no chin; schematic C-shaped ears. It is topped
by a spherical head made of tarred fabric painted black with red cross stripes.
The wide collar of plant fibres frames the face from the crown to below the mouth. The lower part
of the face from the eyes to the mouth is edged with a red line. Lula artists
use white, blue and red pigments to accentuate the shapes and surfaces of their masks.
Provenance: Berthe Hartert collection.
Argiles Collection, Barcelona
This mask was surely worn by the guardian of the initiation ground. An extraordinary
large mask with a white face, elongated oval shape with a broad forehead divided almost in two by the
pointed entrance of the hair scheme and the tip of the enormous triangular and schematic nose; eyes
cut in half by a thin, elongated slit, the upper part of which is edged
in blue and the lower part in red, running all the way to the inside, located within sockets that frame them
and have, at the bottom, three vertical slits per eye (as in the Hemba masks of the
northern Suku); it has a kind of rectangular protruding mouth with vertical slits painted
blue across its entire width; it has no chin; schematic C-shaped ears. It is topped
by a spherical head made of tarred fabric painted black with red cross stripes.
The wide collar of plant fibres frames the face from the crown to below the mouth. The lower part
of the face from the eyes to the mouth is edged with a red line. Lula artists
use white, blue and red pigments to accentuate the shapes and surfaces of their masks.
Provenance: Berthe Hartert collection.
Argiles Collection, Barcelona
Details
Indigenous object name
Kakungu
No. of items
1
Ethnic group/ culture
Lula-Nkanu
Country of Origin
DR Congo
Period
Mid 20th century
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Good condition
Height
55 cm
