LARGE FEMALE SONGYE KIFWEBE CARVED WOODEN CEREMONIAL MASK WITH RAFFIA BACKING

A LARGE FEMALE SONGYE KIFWEBE CARVED WOODEN CEREMONIAL MASK WITH ORIGINAL RAFFIA WEBBED BACKING WHICH BLENDED WITH THE REST OF THE COSTUME DURING CEREMONIAL DANCES. THIS IS FIXED THOUGH SMALL HOLES IN THE BACK RIM OF THE MASK. THE WOODEN MASK IS CARVED WITH GEOMETRIC LINES ON THE FACE AND HEAD WHICH ARE WHITENED WITH PIGMENT AND DARKENED ON THE LARGE RIDGED NOSE, MOUTH AND EYES. MOUNTED ON A BESPOKE BLACK MUSEUM STAND.

IN THE SONGYE LANGUAGE, A MASK IS A KIFWEBE, THIS TERM HAS BEEN GIVEN TO MASKS REPRESENTING SPIRITS AND CHARACTERISED BY STRIATIONS. WORN BY BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, THE MASKS ARE PAIRED WITH WOVEN RAFFIA COSTUMES IN DANCES AT VARIOUS CEREMONIES.

FOR THE SONGYE, WHITE SYMBOLIZES GOODNESS, PURITY, HEALTH, REPRODUCTIVE STRENGTH, JOY, PEACE, WISDOM AND BEAUTY. THE COLOR IS ASSOCIATED MOST COMMONLY WITH THE MOON, THE LIGHT, AND DAYTIME.

SONGYE KIFWEBE MASKS WERE FIRST COLLECTED IN THE 1900S BY THE PIONEERING ARTISTS OF MODERNISM, WHO WERE CAPTIVATED BY THEIR BOLD, GRAPHIC STYLE. THEN IN THE 1920S, THE SURREALISTS, MOTIVATED BY FREUDIAN IDEAS OF THE UNCANNY, BECAME FASCINATED BY THE DREAM-LIKE QUALITIES OF THE MASKS.

ARTISTS LIKE PICASSO AND MODIGLIANI WERE AVID COLLECTORS AND THESE INFLUENCES CAN BE FOUND IN THEIR WORK. SEE ABOVE A PHOTOGRAPH OF A YOUNG PICASSO IN HIS STUDIO SURROUNDED BY HIS TRIBAL ART COLLECTION.

MANY BELIEVE THE LINES OF THE MASK CREATE AN OPTICAL ILLUSION THAT CAN BE HYPNOTIC, PRE-DATING THE EXPERIMENTS OF THE OP ART MOVEMENT IN THE 1960S PIONEERED BY ARTISTS SUCH AS BRIDGET RILEY AND VICTOR VASARELY.

ORIGIN: CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE

DATE: 1960s

DIMENSIONS: H 73 CM x W 33 CM x D 33 CM

CONDITION: GOOD. THIS IS AN OLD MASK USED IN CEREMONIAL DANCES SO HAS SOME WEAR CONSISTENT WITH AGE AND WEAR THIS TYPE OF PIECE. THERE IS A VERY LIGHT CRACK IN THE WOOD ABOVE THE RIGHT EYE, BUT THIS IS ONLY EXTERNAL AND DOES NOT GO TROUGH THE BACK - SEE PHOTOS

PRODUCT CODE: TRI 455

PLEASE NOTE THAT DELIVERY/SHIPPING IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THIS ITEM.

PURCHASES CAN BE PICKED UP FROM THE GALLERY BY APPOINTMENT OR WE'RE HAPPY TO ARRANGE DELIVERY/SHIPPING.