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S O L D
Finely Executed Rare Luba Mask
Luba people, Shaba, Zaire
High 28cm., wood, red, white and brown pigments
Finely Executed Rare Luba Mask, those masks are exceptional, they are mostly found in the eastern Luba kingdoms and are sometimes confused with the better-known striated masks of Songye, although they display more rounded features.
Bifwebe is a generic term used by the Luba, to refer to masks (although it may refer to the performer and masking society, as it does among the Songye [Merriam 1990]
The present example is of typical design with domed forehead, hemispherical eyes and rectangular projecting mouth, the surface with predominantly parallel incisions accented with red and white pigment, medial ridge and raised relief areas stained red.