superb mask - Kongo - DRC Congo (No reserve price)

Healing mask - Kongo Yombe - DRC Zaire
The term Mayombe designates a large wooded region located mostly in Zaire but also largely in Cabinda, Congo and Gabon.

Yombe masks are characterized by being made of light wood and covered with a dye based on local ingredients.

The proportions are human and the expression fairly close to a portrait. Adapted from Arts et Kongos, by Marc Léo Felix.

Probably a female portrait mask with gentle and naturalistic features, capable of representing a real or mythical ancestor.

ML Félix also thinks that these masks could have a use in funeral rituals