The Tabwa are an ethnic group living mainly on the southwestern shores of Lake Tanganyika, and in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their power is counterbalanced by male societies created on Luba prototypes and by female associations influenced by East African models.
The Tabwa used two types of masks: a human one, which represented woman, and another in the form of a buffalo head, which represented man. Both would make an appearance at the time of the fecundity ritual, celebrated for sterile women. This is strongly believed to be a female mask because of the white scarifications covering the mask’s, there are also scarifications around the well-sculpted oval-shaped mouth opening, it has eye openings and a long neck, a brown patina and was carved with great sensitivity, shows traces of wear which show that mask was used a few times.
- Condition: Good
- Material: Light hard Wood
- Age:55-70yrs
- Origin: Democratic Republic Congo
- The following mask has a black patina with scarifications on the face and a rather long neck.
- SKU: CMSK-036
- Weight: 0.5 kg
- Dimensions: 18 x 37 x 7 cm