LOVALE Zambia, northern region h 26 cm Dance... Lot 41

LOVALE Zambia, northern region h 26 cm Dance mask. Hard wood with dark patina, old fractures and signs of use. A mask covered with a thick dark patina which in the places where it has been rubbed excessively, shows the traces of the original wood underneath. Holes have been made around the edge of the mask, which the sculptor intended to use to attach the cloth hood, now disappeared.On the cheeks there are tattoos which indicate the clan to which the owner belonged and around the mouth small holes, hidden by the dark patina, have been made. The tattoos correspond to the canons of female beauty, such as the filed teethwhich follows a long-standing fashion common among many groups of central Africa. The masks were worn by men during festivities to entertain those present and to initiate sexual encounters. PROVENANCE Galleria André Kirbach, Dusseldorf; Private Collection (2009); LITERATURE MEUR CHARLES “Peoples of Africa: Ethno - linguistic map” Bruxelles 2001, Edited by Marc Leo Felix (47 tavole) – tavola di riferimento n° 41 (589); HAHNER-HERZOG IRIS & KECSKESI MARIA & VAJDA LASZLO "L'Autre Visage: Masques africains de la collection Barbier-Mueller" Genéve 1997, pagg. 208 e 209 (605); ROY CHRISTOFER D. “Kilengi: Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss“ Hannover 1997, pagg. 141 - 144 (816)