African art > African mask, tribal art, primitive art > Kwele mask

Kwele mask (N° 27803)

Ex-French collection of African art. Uncommon variant of the African mask Kwele Pipibuze, Pipibudze, ("the man"). Its zoomorphic attributes, stylized here, refer to the antelope or duinker, the main game of the kwele region. This type of mask was not always intended to be worn, but adorned the walls of the huts. Smooth brown patina imprinted with kaolin. Old restoration.
Height on base: 47 cm.
Depending on the presence of horns and their arrangement, the masks are called pibibudzé, Ekuku zokou, etc...and are associated with ancestors or forest spirits, "ekuk". A tribe of the Kota group, the Kwélé, Bakwélé, live in the forest on the northern border of the Republic of Congo. They live from hunting, agriculture and metallurgy. Practicing the cult called Bwété borrowed from the Ngwyes, which was accompanied by obligatory initiation rites, they used at the end of the ceremonies in addition to zoomorphic elephant or gorilla masks, ekuk masks. i> evoking the antelope. The blood of the antelope was also used among the Kwélé for therapeutic purposes.  

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OriginCollection française
EthnyKwele
Countrygabon
Material(s)wood
Height cm30
Width30 cm
Weight1.06 Kg
Socle includedYes

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