Mask

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Culture Songye

Title Mask (Kifwebe)

Date Unknown

Medium Wood and pigment

Dimensions Object: 20 3/4 × 8 7/8 × 10 1/4 in. (52.7 × 22.5 × 26 cm)
Overall: 20 3/4 × 8 7/8 × 10 1/4 in. (52.7 × 22.5 × 26 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 75.54.3

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About this Work

Typical of masks made by the Songye people for a society called Bwadi bwa Kifwebe, this mask has a domed forehead, large eyelids, an elongated lower portion of the face and a protruding, rectangular mouth.

Worn for certain royal ceremonies and on the night of the new moon these masks were part of masquerades that honored the ancestors. This type of mask represented malevolent and menacing spirits that were responsible for upholding the authority of rulers and were associated with sorcery. The Luba peoples also create Kifwebe masks but their personalities are understood quite differently.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Mask | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=75.54.3