Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Salampasu people, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A hand-carved wooden face mask of an expressive style with openwork eye holes, a round nose with drilled nostrils, petite, perky ears, and a mouth bearing two rows of sharpened teeth. Boasting a lustrous burnish over a rich shade of chocolate brown with accents of light orange, this vizard presents a protruding forehead of the characteristic Salampasu style below an elaborate coiffure composed of vegetal fiber netting strapped to a wooden circle and topped with eighteen woven rattan spheres arranged in two concentric circles. The mask can be fastened to one's face via the slender ropes that hang from a pair of perforations on the chin and the sides of the netted circle. Additional ropes can also be strung through the annular drill holes that line the periphery to better secure it to one's head. Masks like this example are marks of hierarchy that are accessible to men after they have passed through a circumcision ritual. Size: 8.25" W x 12" H (21 cm x 30.5 cm)

Provenance: private Arcadia, California, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000

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#162076

Metal wire strapped to back for suspension. Tip of nose has been repaired. Abrasion to proper right side of chin. Expected surface wear and light fraying to fibers commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with nice patina and liberal remains of pigment.