Mask
Artist Unidentified
20th century, 1950–2000
Object PlaceDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Medium/TechniqueRaffia fiber, pigment
DimensionsOverall (without beard): 40 x 22 x 32 cm (15 3/4 x 8 11/16 x 12 5/8 in.)
Overall (with beard): 76 x 22 x 32 cm (29 15/16 x 8 11/16 x 12 5/8 in.)
Overall (with beard): 76 x 22 x 32 cm (29 15/16 x 8 11/16 x 12 5/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2672
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
This mask was connected with warrior associations that would ward off intruders. Masking and the warrior associations were discontinued among the Sala Mpasu after Congo's independence in 1961, when an iconoclast movement took hold and people deliberately abandoned their old ways to move into modern times
Provenance1970s, sold by an unidentified African merchant in Cambridge, MA, to Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
early to mid-20th century
early to mid-20th century
early to mid-20th century
early to mid-20th century
