Anthropomorphic mask - Luba - DR Congo

Anthropomorphic mask – Luba – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), southeast Congo
Culture / Ethnicity: Luba
Material: Carved wood, deep patina and plant fibers
Support: Work provided with its original presentation plinth, custom-made.

- An exclusive, richly illustrated catalogue accompanies the Wirtz Collection, with a detailed note dedicated 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- Unpublished: Dated and signed composition, entitled After the Wirtz Collection, offering a pictorial evocation of the interior of the collection as it might have been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 the heir, this object was reportedly brought back from Congo in the 1960s, then kept within the family.

The family collection was carefully maintained and displayed in a room fully dedicated to it, arranged in the spirit of a private cabinet of curiosities, where the works were gathered and highlighted in an environment specifically 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Unpublished: Dated and signed composition, entitled After the Wirtz Collection, offering a pictorial evocation of the interior of the collection as it might have been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

Anthropomorphic mask attributed to the Luba from the southeast Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A form of striking purity. Here the sculptor seems to have deliberately eliminated every superfluous element in order to concentrate the full power of the work in a few essential lines. A broad brow, two almond-shaped eyes, a long, perfectly vertical nose, an open mouth and two trilobed motifs in relief are enough to construct a face of exceptional presence.

The silhouette is particularly successful. The forehead expands into a wide, continuous curve before the face progressively narrows toward the chin. This construction gives the mask an almost perfect balance between the softness of volumes and geometric rigor.

The eyes are certainly one of the most fascinating details of the piece. Large, stretched and deeply opened, they are surrounded by a fine relief that emphasizes their almond shape. Their perfectly controlled arrangement creates a fixed, silent, almost unreal gaze.

Between them descends an extremely purified nose, reduced to a long straight ridge. Seen from three-quarters, its relief appears with much more force and reveals how this sculpture, which seems very simple frontally, actually rests on a subtle construction of volumes.

The two trilobed motifs carved on the cheeks introduce a remarkable rupture in this sobriety. Placed symmetrically, they function almost as graphic signs applied to the face. Their lighter surface contrasts with the deep brown-red tone of the wood and immediately attracts the eye.

The mouth, simply open in the material, constitutes the final point of tension in the composition. No smile, no grimace: only this dark opening that heightens the enigmatic character of the face.

The patina is superb. Deep, warm and nuanced, it shifts from bright reddish-brown to almost black areas. The tonal differences, ancient abrasions, and surface traces give the wood a richness that only a long material history can produce.

At the base of the mask remains a substantial fringe of plant fibers, carefully fixed around the lower edge. It provides a very strong contrast with the almost abstract perfection of the sculpture: to the smooth, controlled face responds a dry, irregular organic material. Museums likewise preserve masks attributed to the Luba combining wood sculpture and raffia fibers.

It is precisely this contrast that makes the work so beautiful: the extreme sophistication of the form confronted with raw material.

Face-on, the mask possesses an almost absolute serenity. From three-quarters, it becomes much more sculptural: the curve of the skull, the projection of the nose, the relief of the eyes and the opening of the mouth progressively appear and give the whole an astonishing depth.

International collections also document several traditions of masks attributed to Luba artists, in carved and pigment-coated wood, bearing witness to the diversity of this production in southeastern Congo.

An exceptionally elegant work, whose strength lies in restraint: no excess, no superfluous effect, only a sovereign line, a deep patina and a face reduced to the essential. A sculpture of surprising modernity and magnetic presence.