Hemba mask.

Hemba mask. North Basuku, Congo-Zaire, first half of the 20th century.
Carved wood, polychrome and raffia.
Measurements: 37 cm (face); 70 cm (face and raffia); 97 cm (total height with base).
Helmet mask carved in a single piece, consisting of a face and a hairstyle often crowned by an animal. Within the Basuku territory, there is a typological difference between the masks of the north and the south. In the south, the masks have a more individualized behavior than in the north, because of their accompanying songs and the responses of the assistance. These masks are said to represent the collective image of all deceased elders, in particular the maternal lineage chiefs (Leemba). At the same time they contain a powerful spell that can favor the success of the hunt, cure certain affections and harm those who dissimulate malevolent intentions or are disrespectful. In the north, on the other hand, the masks are called Hemba.
The masks of the North, on the other hand, continue the typology of the piece that concerns us. Thus, we are faced with a ritual mask painted white, whose head limit follows the natural line of the forehead or, as in our case, it is inflected in tip to the beginning of the nose. The ears, placed high in relation to the eyes and on the white border of the face, have the shape of a circle arc, as well as large elliptical holes. The eyes, curved, are long slit underneath, under which there are three marks that fall vertically. The nose, small and triangular, is pierced. As for its mouth, it is a groove, elongated and surrounded -both above and below- by small vertical grooves. The piece continues the main characteristic of the Basuku masks of the north, with a raffia that surrounds the entire base of the face and falls shockingly. The animal that crowns the piece stands out, perfectly defined although it continues the simplified features that characterize African ritual masks.