Bembe - R.D. Congo

The forehead has
a double curvature: the curves on either side sweeping forwards end in a notched ridge,
an extension of the nose; the second curves, running vertically, cause the forehead to taper to a
point; the eye sockets, enormous and rectangular, with notches around their entire perimeter, painted
with cream-coloured kaolin, are joined together by a striated bridge, painted red, above the nose; the eyes, situated in the centre of the eye sockets, are open, elliptical in shape, with raised eyelids and notches around their entire perimeter representing the eyelashes; they are the same brown colour as the mask; the nose, emerging from beneath the bridge connecting the eye sockets, is tubular with a rounded tip, slightly upturned and with horizontal notches; beneath the eye sockets, where the cheeks would be, there is a sideburn on each side, with curved vertical notches, running from the sides of the mask to the nose; below, in the shape of an inverted V, very wide, starting at a cowrie shell, there is a strip of small black glass beads; the mouth is a small, perforated, protruding truncated cone. The mask ends with a row of half-shells,
bells, hanging from the lower edge; from eye level to the lower edge of the mask, there are, on each side, ample tufts of plant fibre; the edges of the eye sockets and the side pieces are coloured red.

Provenance: Padres Blancos missionaires
Argiles Collection, Barcelona