Mask Emangungu / Eluba - Eastern Bembe - DR Congo

Masque Emangungu / Eluba – Bembe of the East – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), Sud-Kivu, territory of Fizi
Culture / Ethnicity: Eastern Bembe
Material: Sculpted wood, kaolin and pigments
Support: Work supplied with its original presentation plinth, custom-made.

- An exclusive, richly illustrated catalog accompanies the Wirtz Collection, with a detailed note dedicated to each of the works presented. (available on request)

- Unpublished: Dated and signed composition, titled After the Wirtz collection, offering a pictorial evocation of the interior of the collection as it might have been represented in 1965.

Provenance

Former private collection of a member of the Wirtz family, Antwerp (Belgium), a family historically active in the travel sector.

According to information transmitted directly by his heir, this object was reportedly brought back from Congo in the 1960s and then kept within the family.

The family collection was carefully preserved and displayed in a room entirely devoted to it, arranged in the spirit of a private cabinet of curiosities, where the works were assembled and showcased in an environment specially dedicated to their presentation.

Acquired directly from the heir, with whom this sale is conducted in collaboration.

Description & Study of the Work

Anthropomorphic mask Emangungu, also identified Eluba in certain collections, attributed to the Eastern Bembe of the Fizi territory, in the current South Kivu Province.

Emangungu masks belong to a particularly singular tradition within Bembe art. They played a role in initiation rites and circumcision ceremonies of buttende bwa ’eluba, during which young initiates underwent a period of withdrawal and transformation before crossing into adulthood. The Metropolitan Museum notes that this tradition had already been practiced by only a limited number of Bembe groups during research conducted in the 1950s and 1960s.

This specimen immediately strikes with its vertical construction and the fascinating strangeness of its face. The tall form in board is structured by a long central ridge carved, adorned with a continuous rhythm of diamonds and geometric motifs that divides the work along an axis that is almost perfectly symmetrical.

The upper part is dominated by two large crescent-shaped eyes, deeply modeled, set in broad cavities outlined with light pigment. Further down appears a second pair of ocular volumes, creating a striking superposition of gazes and giving the mask an almost supernatural appearance. This multi-level organization finds direct parallels in Emangungu kept in museum collections.

The gaze occupies a central place in the iconography of these masks. The Metropolitan Museum relates these strongly accentuated eyes to the ancient figure of a forest spirit associated with wisdom and with a vision capacity beyond ordinary sight, protective qualities particularly significant in the initiation context.

Red-ochre, black and whitish pigments organize around a remarkable geometric vocabulary: diamonds, triangles, cross lines and incised bands punctuate the surface and reinforce the monumentality of this otherwise restrained composition.

The piece possesses exceptional presence: austere from afar, it becomes extraordinarily complex when the viewer lingers on the succession of eyes, the reliefs and the engraved motifs. The repetition of forms almost gives the impression of a face multiplied, located at the threshold between human figure, graphic sign, and spiritual apparition.

Surface wear, partial pigment losses and patina variations fully contribute to the visual depth of the work.

A singular and particularly captivating piece, issued from one of the most original masked traditions of the Eastern Bembe, where the power of the gaze and the geometrization of the face reach a remarkable plastic intensity.