**Originally Listed At $500**

Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lega peoples, ca. mid 20th century CE. A fine mask of a stylized human face, hand-carved from hard wood and colored with a coffee-brown pigment. The ovoid mask is defined by coffee-bean-shaped eyes with narrow slits, high-arching brows which taper inwards to form the slender nose, an ovoid mouth surrounded by thin lips, and a bulbous forehead which traces upwards to the carved-out verso. Several perforations encircle the peripheries of the mask for attachment to a larger costume. In Lega tradition, masks are a symbol of their owner's rank within the Bwami society, which is an initiative society whose membership is open to Lega men and women who undergo a system of instruction, payment, and initiation. Size: 6.25" W x 9.875" H (15.9 cm x 25.1 cm).

Provenance: private California, USA collection; ex-private New Jersey, USA collection, purchased in the 1990s

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#139075

Minor nicks and abrasions to face, peripheries, and verso, with fading to original brown pigmentation, and inactive insect damage, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits and great patina throughout.