Skip Navigation

Mask (Kifwebe)

Arts of Africa

The kifwebe masquerade is a genre shared by the Luba and Songye, indicative of the interaction that has occurred between the two societies. Kifwebe masks represent either male or female beings. Both mask types are characterized by angular and thrusting forms, and in both cases the entire face is covered in patterns of geometric grooves that are uniquely characteristic of these masks. Female masks, such as this one, are distinguished by the predominant use of white clay and the rounded form of the head crest.
CULTURE Songye
MEDIUM Wood, pigment
DATES late 19th or early 20th century
DIMENSIONS 12 x 7 1/8 x 6 1/8 in. (30.5 x 18.1 x 15.6 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
ACCESSION NUMBER 2011.4.2
CREDIT LINE Collection of Beatrice Riese
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION The object is a female mask with projecting mouth, triangular nose, pierced eyes, overall concentric linear carving, and polychrome pigment. Condition is excellent. Two small holes made in back at a previous time for suspending wire through the mask's widest point. Separate mount.
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Songye. Mask (Kifwebe), late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, pigment, 12 x 7 1/8 x 6 1/8 in. (30.5 x 18.1 x 15.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Collection of Beatrice Riese, 2011.4.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2011.4.2_threequarter_SL1_edited.jpg)
IMAGE 2011.4.2_threequarter_SL1_edited.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.