A tall carved wooden female effigy which served as a conical helmet with detailed and elaborate painted geometric designs painted in a black and white checkered motif, with attached wooden arms and a tall raffia grass coiffure. Kuba peoples, DRC/ Congo, Africa. The sculpture measures 32.5 inches tall ( 35.5 inches on professional custom display stand). According to literature, such tall sculpture / masks would appear at the finale of the initiation cycle, this tall figure was worn as a helmet atop the head with the dancer concealed by raffia below, and would tower over viewers at an astonishing height. The monumental scale, lively expression, dazzling colors, and cubistic architecture convey both the grandeur of initiated Kuba society and the moral principles sacred to the community.

Good, well handled