Mask (Kifwebe) / Artist Unknown, African, Luba or Songye Peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo
About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2005/1.219
- Title
- Mask (Kifwebe)
- Artist Nationality
- Congolese
- Medium and Support
- wood, raffia, feathers, kaolin
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1940
- Object Creation Place
- Africa (continent)
- Congo Republic (nation)
- Creation Place 1
- Africa (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Congo Republic (nation)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern
- Dimensions
- 76.2 cm x 43.18 cm x 30.48 cm (30 in. x 17 in. x 12 in.)
- Century
- 20th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Costume and Costume Accessory
- Primary Object Type
- mask
- Physical Description
- Wood carved face with geometric, pseudo-human facial features, grooved, bilaterial striations of surface, protruding, square pursed mouth and horizontal slit eyes with protruding eyebrows. Faint traces of white kaolin in grooves; a flat wooden crest extends from the nose along the curve of the forehead, terminating in feathered headdress; thick raffia fiber beard attached around face. mask shows much wear with nicks and scraptes on wood surface; feathered headdress and fiber beard are brittle.
- Subject Matter
- Kifwebe masks were danced by men's secret associations (bwadi bwa kifwebe) once active in Luba and Songye communities of the DRC. The mystical, transformative powers embodied in these masks were used as a form of social control, aiding in the collection and redistribution of wealth, and in judicial affairs. Masks were also danced at the funerals of chiefs and dignitaries, to honor ancestors, and in some regions, to dispel malevolent occult forces. There are male and female types. UMMA mask is female. Female masks were thought to enhance fertility and assure smooth transitions in the cycle of life.
- Secondary Keywords
- associated concepts
- costume
- costume by function
- descriptors
- events
- masks (costume)
- object genres
- object genres by material
- objects we use
- people and culture
- sculpture
- sculpture by material
- social science concepts
- sociological concepts
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Record
- 2005/1.219
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2005-sl-1.219/r_2005_1_219.jpg
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Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Mask (Kifwebe); Artist Unknown, African, Luba or Songye Peoples Democratic Republic of the Congo." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2005-sl-1.219/r_2005_1_219.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 23, 2024.
