**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 with 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: 5.7" W x 10.25" H (14.5 cm x 26 cm).

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

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#139074

Small nicks to some raised areas and peripheries, with fading to original pigmentation, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits and great patina throughout.