Yaka Kholuka - Mbala - DR Congo

Authentic large Yaka mask, Kholuka or M'Bala from the Congo dating from the mid-20th century. Conical headdress divided into three tiers. Characteristic face of Yaka art; upturned nose and eyebrow arches in an arc on a white, kaolin-based background. Masks coated with kaolin evoke the power of the ancestors through the white color. Yaka statuary focuses on both healing and maleficence. Beautiful, well-preserved polychromy with numerous geometric motifs, surmounted by two fish at the top of the cone.