English description below
CONGO DRC
SUPERB KAYAMBA MASK
KWAME LEGA
Very beautiful mask, very expressive
The Mask Kayamba is easily recognizable by the two horns on top. It is a relatively rare mask, used by tutors during coming-of-age ceremonies for young boys.
The Kwame
The Kwame (Bakwame) are considered by some as a sub-tribe of the Lega, by others as a neighboring tribe sharing with them cult and stylistic characteristics. This people is made up of 12 groups, only 8 of them practice Bwami.
Biebuyck writes that the Bakwame are a remarkable synthesis of the influences of the Lega, Kumu, Songola, Nyanga and Konjo (Biebuyck, The Arts of Zaire, 1986, page 229)
They live in the province of Maniema, in the territory of Punia and in the province of South Kivu, in the territory of Shabunda
The Lega are a Bantu forest people of Central Africa, established mainly in eastern Congo DRC, east of the Lwalaba River (the Congo River), up to high altitudes in the Mitumba Mountains, in the provinces of South Kivu and Maniema.
Features:
OBJECT TYPE: Mask.
ETHNIC GROUP: LEGA - KWAME
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Democratic Republic of Congo DRC
(ex Belgian Congo, ex Zaire).
MATERIAL: Wood, plant fibers
DIMENSIONS: Height 29 cm
45 cm with beard
CONDITION: Average
See photos
The base is NOT included
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Bibliography - Art Lega - Bibliography:
- Lega. Ethics and Beauty in the Heart of Africa. Daniel P. Biebuyck. 2002. KBC.
- Lega Jewels from the Benoît Rousseau Collection. Viviane Baeke, MRAC and Benoît Rousseau. 2013. BRUNEAF.
- In search of the meaning of Bwami, through a collection like no other. Viviane Baeke. Undated. Royal Museum for Central Africa.
- The sculpture of the Lega. Daniel P. Biebuyck. 1994. Galerie Hélène and Philippe Leloup- Paris-New-York.
- The arts of Zaire, Vol II Eastern Zaire. Daniel P. Biebuyck, 1986, University of California Press.
- The Art of the Lega of Central Africa, Elizabeth L. Cameron. 2013, Musée du quai Branly.
- Lega Culture. Art, Initiation and Moral Philosophy Among a Central African People. Daniel P. Biebuyck. 1973. University of California Press.
- The Lega and their art. In the footsteps of a dreamer lost in Congoland Emile-Alexandre Georges. 2005. Royal Museum for Central Africa.
- L'Art Lega - Grandeur and Humility. In the Vallois collection, Valentine Plisnier and Michel Boulanger, 2016
- The Warega and the Wabembe. An extraordinary social culture and an astonishing civilization without writing in Central Africa, Alexandre Safiannikoff, 2022, Paul Safiannikoff
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CONGO DRC
SUPERB KAYAMBA MASK
KWAME LEGA
Beautiful mask, very expressive
The Kayamba Mask is easily recognizable by the two horns on the top. It is a relatively rare mask, used by preceptors during the initiation rites of young boys for the passage to adulthood
The Kwame
The Kwame (Bakwame) are considered by some as a sub-tribe of the Lega, by others as a neighboring tribe sharing with them cultural and stylistic characteristics. These people are divided into 12 independent groups, only 8 of them practicing the cult of the Bwami.
Biebuyck writes that the Bakwame are the remarkable synthesis of the influences of the Lega, Kumu, Songola, Nyanga and Konjo (Biebuyck, The Arts of Zaire, 1986, page 229)
They live in the province of Maniema, in the Territory of Punia and in the province of South Kivu, in the territory of Shabunda.
Features:
TYPE OF OBJECT: Mask.
ETHNICAL GROUP: Lega- Kwame
ORIGIN: Democratic Republic of Congo.
DRC (former Belgian Congo, former Zaire).
MATERIAL: Wood, vegetable fibers
DIMENSIONS: About 11 1/2 Inches high (29 cm)
17 3/4 with the beard (45 cm)
CONDITION:Medium
Please have a look on the pictures.
The base is NOT included
