MC1673 Superb double mask Komo Kumu Nsumbu Mask Congo
Regular price
€850.00
For similar pieces, see Félix, 1987, pages 64 and 65 and Neyt, 2010, figure 47
Masks personify the spirit of divination
They are worn during ceremonies, only by the descendants of the first initiates of the greatest soothsayer Abálambú, (himself initiated by the cynocephalic monkeys, according to legend) First taken for a madman, he was then followed by his son-in-law who then had many followers and developed a brotherhood, the ƃabánkunda
The Kumu are a Bantu people living in the equatorial forest of eastern Congo DRC in the province of North Kivu, they are neighbors, among others, of the Lega, the Leka, the Lengola, the Songola, the Pere, the Kwame and the Nyanga
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- 100 peoples of Zaire and their sculpture. The handbook for collectors, scholars and students, Marc Leo Felix, Brussels: Zaire Basin Art History Research Foundation, 1987
- Congo River, François NEYT, Quai Branly Museum, Mercator Fund, 2010
SUPERB NSEMBU KUMU PANEL MASK
Among the Kumu, Nsembu masks are important objects, the masks, which go in pairs (female/male) are generally distinct, but can be more rarely joined and juxtaposed as is the case here.
For similar pieces, see Félix, 1987, pages 64 and 65 and Neyt, 2010, figure 47
The masks of the Komo (or Kumu) tribe represent the spirit of divination
They are used during ceremonies, only by the descendants of the first initiates of the greatest diviner Abálambú, (himself initiated by the cynocephalus monkeys, according to legend) At first taken for a madman, he was followed by his son-in-law, who then had many followers and developed a brotherhood, the ƃabánkunda.
The Kumu are a Bantu people living in the equatorial forest of eastern Congo DRC in the province of North Kivu, they are neighbors, among others, of the Lega, the Leka, the Lengola, the Songola, the Pere, the Kwame and the Nyanga
Please have a look on the pictures.