African Arts Gallery

On a frame made of basketry, stretched with woven raffia, a miniature mask reproduces the features of the effigies of ancestors. This type of object was attached to the arms of dancers during masked ceremonies. Remnants of seeds and wooden beads remain sewn onto the canvas.

The Kusu established on the left bank of the Lualaba indeed borrowed the artistic traditions of the Luba and the Hemba, whose worship ancestors and mythical heroes, and possess a caste system similar to that of the Luba. In this region, between the Bembe, Boyo, Hemba, Songye and Tetela, ritual objects were subject to stylistic exchanges and influences. The primordial ancestor, named Soba, is said to be embodied in the sculpted figures of the Kusu. Their initiatory society, the bagabo, also uses protective fetishes against witchcraft. Nuanced brown patina.