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African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: A Legacy of Collecting
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Mask: Kidumu
Republic of Congo; Teke peoples, Tsaayi group, 19th century
Wood, paint; H. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm)
Provenance: André Derain, Paris, before 1930; [Charles Ratton, Paris, late 1930s]; Josef Mueller, before 1939
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This rare face mask is among the earliest preserved examples of a sculptural genre known as kidumu. The incised and painted motifs that enhance such works were conceived as graphic signs that encoded information relating to Tsaayi history. Such masks also served as instruments of divination during animated performances. This work was collected in the Teke region and acquired by the painter André Derain at an unknown date. It first appeared in the West in 1930, when the artist lent it to the exhibition Art africain et Art océanien at the Galerie du Théâtre Pigalle in Paris.
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