Miniature ritual mask - Luba – Lake Moero - DR Congo

Ritual miniature mask – Luba – Lake Moero – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Origin : Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), Lake Moero (Mweru) region, southeast of the Congo
Culture / Ethnicity : Luba – Luba cultural complex
Material : Carved wood and pigments
Support : Work provided with its original presentation plinth, custom-made.

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

- Unpublished: Dated and signed composition, entitled After the Wirtz collection, offering a pictorial evocation of the interior of the collection as it might have been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 directly transmitted by her heir, this object would have been brought back from Congo in the 1960s, then retained within the family.

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

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

Unpublished: Dated and signed composition, entitled After the Wirtz collection, offering a pictorial evocation of the interior of the collection as it might have been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

Description & Study of the work

Rare miniature anthropomorphic mask, attributed to the Luba of the Lake Moero region, in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This is not here a mask reduced to purely decorative ends. Small Luba masks are historically documented in this region: the British Museum holds in particular a specimen from Lake Mweru, collected as early as 1904 by Emil Torday and measuring only 11.3 cm.

In the Luba ritual universe, some miniature masks could be worn on the body, notably suspended from the neck of a masked figure, and functioned as prestige, identification or protection objects. Depending on their context, their reduced size thus brings these works closer to the world of amulet, talisman or ritual insignia, rather than a facial mask intended to be worn directly in front of the face.

The piece can be linked to the initiatory environment of the Kifwebe traditions, present among the Luba as well as the Songye. These societies used the mask and its iconography as supports of power, authority and ritual knowledge. Luba Kifwebe traditions are well documented in major museum collections.

This exemplar, despite its small size, possesses an unexpectedly monumental presence. The oval face is dense, powerfully structured and entirely animated by a deep polychromy mixing brown-black tones, dark red and traces of light pigments.

The eyes, stretched and almost closed, give the figure a grave and focused expression. The triangular, prominently projected nose occupies the center of the composition while several incised motifs rhythm the forehead and cheeks.

The hairstyle or upper band constitutes a notably remarkable element. Deeply striated, it forms a regular succession of vertical reliefs and crowns the face like a true crown. A significant opening visible in this upper part may be linked to an old suspension or mounting system, coherent with the corporeal function attributed to certain miniature masks.

The face also preserves a remarkable vocabulary of scarifications and geometric signs: vertical lines on the forehead and cheeks, a diamond motif around the mouth and a small semicircular side emblem. The asymmetrical arrangement of some of these signs gives the whole a strong personality.

The dark, deep patina is particularly appealing. The pigment areas are now partially attenuated, revealing a complex surface where wood matter, abrasions and color remnants mingle. The object thus possesses a visual density far greater than its format might suggest.

Its reverse, relatively flat and heavily marked by the tool, also recalls its particular nature: we are facing an object designed as a portable sign, meant to be seen and handled, rather than to envelop the face as a conventional mask.

A rare and fascinating piece by its size, its ancient ritual vocabulary and its expressive power: a true concentrate of Luba sculpture, at the border between mask, insignia, pendant and protective object.