Two masks for the price of one !!

You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to show your appreciation for African Art. Maybe you are looking for something a little extra to highlight a mud cloth pillow, a little statue that sits on a table or maybe something to fill that nagging blank corner on the wall!

Our small masks are perfect! They are low cost but the best part is that they are Authentic! These items were not made for the trade. They have been gathered after actual use during public festivals!

This set features a mask from the Teke people:

The Teke people reside in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon. The Teke of the northwest are known as the Tsaye. The basic social unit of the two groups is the family, led by the Mfumu or head of the family who has the right of life or death over each clan member. The village as a whole is led by the “father of the land” or Mfumu na tzee. The Tsaye believe in a supreme God, Nzambi and are socially governed by the secret Kidumu society. The Kidumu, more than a century old, is a political-religious society that intervenes in all major aspects of social life: circumcisions, weddings, judgements and funerals. At the end of a Kidumu ceremony, a dancer, accompanied by musicians, performs with a circular shaped mask which is bisected by a horizontal stripe. As with many Teke masks a sacred tribal bird symbol is perched atop the crown of this covering. This colorful rendition is a small wall plaque that is used as a symbol of ancestral pride.

Perfect African accent piece!

Dimensions: 8 1/4 long x 5 1/2 inches wide.

The second masks is Luba:

The BaLuba of the southern part of the Congo empire was founded in 1585. At its peak over 1 million people paid tribute to the Luba king. Kifwebe masks also attributed to the Songye people were used in a Luba dance called "makaye a Kifwebe'' which means "dance of the mask." The Kifwebe was used when the chief of the village either dies or was newly appointed or when an important dignitary arrives at the village. The facial components include a wide and pronounced nose, oversized eyes with enlarged eyelids and a protruding box like mouth. This mask is female as evidenced by the round shape and the lack of a frontal head crest. The mask has been tastefully pigmented in shades of tan, brown and black and adorned with a beautiful native bird feather trim around the bottom!

Dimensions: 6 1/2 long x 8 inches wide.

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Please click photo for enlargement!

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