Mask – Wood, Raphia – Binji – Congo

Wonderful rar Binji mask from Congo. Central Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Binji (also Bindji) peoples, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A lovely hand-carved wooden helmet mask known as a “tshibangabanga” displayed a dark-brown mask with full raphia. The mask is defined by a slanted lower periphery, a pointed chin, a prominent nose with tufts of braided and loose fibers, rectangular eyes. The cheeks  are incised with crosshatch panels indicative of ritual scarification, with linear and zigzag motifs adorning the sides and verso, and a perforated top knot above the bulbous coiffure. Tshibangabanga masks like this example are believed to contain the greatest amount of spiritual power of the Binji masks, and only the “master of the initiation camps” can wear them.

Provenance: former private collection from Germany.