Large Yombe mask / Woyo, DRC - Lot 76

Large Yombe mask / Woyo, DRC African Yombe masks, with their realistic features, were used by the divinnganga diphoba and by members of secret societies. This example is a larger-than-usual version. Abraded polychrome patina, minor accidents 40 x 32 cm Sold without base A clan of the Kongo group, the Yombe are established on the West African coast, in the southwest of the Republic of Congo and in Angola. Their statuary includes remarkable maternities. The Vili , the Lâri, the Sûndi, the Woyo, the Bembé, the Bwende, the Yombé and the Kôngo formed theKôngo group, led by King ntotela . Their kingdom reached its apogee in the 16th century with the ivory and copper trade and the slave trade. With the same beliefs and traditions, they produced statuary with codified gestures in line with their vision of the world. Source: "le geste Kongo" Ed. Musée Dapper and "Trésors d'Afrique" Musée de Tervuren; "L'Ame de l'Afrique" s.Diakonoff.