Description: Welcome To The Premier Place For Serious Collectors of Fine Authentic African Tribal Art Over 10 Years Online Serving Thousands of Satisfied Customers GothamGallery Offering the Finest Quality Sub-Saharan African Art Striking African DRC Yaka Mask Inches: Height: 12 Inches Centimeters: Height: 30.5 Centimeters Measurements Mask Only Material: Wood, Pigment, Cloth, Vegetal Material Estimated Age: Early - Mid 20th Century Condition: Good Remarks: Highly stylized mask with unique house superstructure polychrome finished aged surface INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS WELCOME Any Available Provenance Will Be Included With This Piece. CONDITION Minor wood deterioration, scrapes and chips, age cracks, lost to vegetal material, overall condition good. Thank you and please view my other items. BACKGROUND The Yaka people live along the Wamba River. They migrated from Angola during the 16th century and settled under the control of the Kongo Kingdom. In the 18th century their lands were annexed by the Angola-based Lunda people, but by the 19th century the Yaka had regained their independence. Yaka society is tightly structure and headed by a chief of Lunda origin, the Kiamfu, who delegates responsibilities to ministers and lineage chiefs, Unkwagata. Young men are expected to pass through various initiation stages, including circumcision. The tribe lives principally from hunting, although subsidiary farming is undertaken by the women. Prestige objects such as zoomorphic and anthropomorphic neckrests, cups, adzes, combs and terracotta pipes were carved specifically for the chiefs and were kept by them. Slit drums ending in a carved human head were used by diviners. Many figures of various sizes were cherished for their magical abilities. Painter Fred Uhlman words - Most of the artists I admired, Picasso, Modigliani, Deraini, to mention only a few, had collected African art and had been profoundly influenced by it. Shortly afterwards I bought the Baule Fetish and the Baule bobbin which are still two of the finest pieces in my collection. It is easy to see why I bought them and why from that moment I have never stopped collecting. The head of the bobbin or heddle - pulley which is after all only a functional object for the purpose of weaving seemed to me then and today as beautiful as a Greek goddess. The fetish moved me as deeply as the bobbin by its silent tragic dignity and its air of profound meditation. GUARANTEE AUTHENTICITY AND CONDITION OF ITEMS ARE GUARANTEED TO THEIR DESCRIPTION AND PICTURES. QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, OR MORE DETAIL PICTURES. SHIPPING SHIPPING VIA USPS PARCEL POST UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE. OTHER SHIPPING OPTIONS AVAILABLE. INTERNATIONAL VIA USPS PRIORITY MAIL -SHIPPING COST PLEASE INQUIRE. COMBINED SHIPPING: SHIPPING IS ALWAYS COMBINED WHEN POSSIBLE, UNLESS THE PIECE IS TOO LARGE OR DELICATE. SHIPPING TIME: ITEM ARE CAREFULLY PACKAGED AND SHIPPED OUT WITHIN 10 DAYS OF PAYMENT. PACKING FRAGILE ART ITEM NEEDS CAREFUL ATTENTION AND WILL NEVER BE FAST, BUT WE DO OUT BEST TO MAKE SURE IT WILL ARRIVE FOR YOU SAFELY. IF YOU NEED THE ITEM QUICKLY PLEASE EMAIL FIRST FOR ARRANGEMENT.
Price: 450 USD
Location: Huntersville, North Carolina
End Time: 2025-01-07T05:02:42.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Original/Reproduction: Original
Material: Wood
Tribe: Yaka
