Mask - Wood - Lega - DR Congo

A fine, well worn Lega mask, showing positive signs of use from handling and having been danced in. Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lega peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century. Hand-carved wooden anthropomorphic face mask of an ovoid elongated form with scarification to forehead and cheeks (an incised double diagonal set of lines accented by a darker, black pigment) , almond-shaped eyes, a slender nose above a narrow mouth, and a bulging forehead and eyes. The area around the eyes, cheeks and mouth are embellished with ritual scarification marks and notes of pigment, possibly kaolin. In Lega tradition, masks are a symbol of their owner's rank within the Bwami society, which is an initiative society whose membership is open to Lega men and women who undergo a system of instruction, payment, and initiation. Provenance: ex private Tribal Collection, New York, USA