Africa, Zaire, Songye / Mask (kifwebe) / c. 1930s

Africa, Zaire, Songye
Mask (kifwebe)
c. 1930s
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Creator Name: Unknown
Creator Nationality: African; Central African; Congolese
Creator Name-CRT: Africa, Zaire, Songye
Title: Mask (kifwebe)
Title Type: Primary
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1930
Creation End Date: 1939
Creation Date: c. 1930s
Object Type: Sculpture
Materials and Techniques: Wood and pigment
Dimensions: Overall: 71.2cm
AMICA Contributor: The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number: 1972.2
Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Rights: http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html
Provenance: Georges Vidal, Cannes (1960)
Style or Period: Africa, Zaire, Songye
Context: The closely spaced, painted grooves on the kifwebe mask accentuate the contours of the mask itself. The colors are mixed with sacred substances that activate the mask and help induce the wearer to enter a state of being between human and spirit. The theme of transformation may be inherent in the form of the mask itself, which recalls, in an abstracted way, some of the distinctive traits of the chameleon -- a supreme symbol of transformative power.
AMICA ID: CMA_.1972.2
AMICA Library Year: 2000
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright, The Cleveland Museum of Art

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