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CONGO DRC
Beautiful idimu LEGA mask
Face whitened with a very mineral kaolin (glitter effect)
Dotted scars on the forehead
This type of mask was used in the framework of the Bwami cult, a grade initiatory society whose secret rites were reserved for initiates
This association organized the social structure and ensured the stability of the Lega community.
The Lega are a Bantu forest people of Central Africa, living mainly in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, 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 - Warega
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Democratic Republic of Congo DRC
(ex Belgian Congo, ex Zaire).
MATERIAL: Wood
DIMENSIONS: Height 23 cm
CONDITION: Average
Defect on the right side (see last 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 - Sculptures do not speak. The Balega made them speak, Daniel P. Biebuyck Cahiers de literature oral 67-68: 69-81, 2010
- 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
Beautiful idimu LEGA Mask
Face whitened with a very mineral kaolin (glitter effect)
Dot scarifications on the forehead
This type of mask was used in the cult of the Bwami, a level society whose rites were reserved for the initiatesThis association organized the social structure and ensured the stability of the Lega community.
The Lega are a Bantu forest people of Central Africa, established mainly in the east of the Congo Drc, east of the Lwalaba River (the Congo River), up to the altitude in the Mitumba Mountains, in the provinces of South Kivu and Maniema.
Features:
TYPE OF OBJECT: Mask.
ETHNICAL GROUP: Lega .
ORIGIN: Democratic Republic of Congo.
DRC (former Belgian Congo, former Zaire).
MATERIAL: Wood
DIMENSIONS: About 9 Inches high (23 cm)
CONDITION:Medium
Defect on the right side (see last pictures)
