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FIG. 9 (right):
Mask.
Luba, DR Congo.
Wood, pigment, fi ber. H: 38.5 cm.
Ex Gaston-Denys Périer, Brussels
(by 1937); Charles Jacques Massar,
Brussels (by 1997).
Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, inv.
III C 45382.
Photo: Dietrich Graf. © Staatliche
Museen zu Berlin—Preussischer
Kulturbesitz / Art Resource, New
York.
It is believed that Luba masks
originally always appeared in pairs,
refl ecting a dichotomy between
village (female) and wilderness
(male). With the absence of any
facial decorations and its early,
pre-1937 acquisition date, the Berlin
mask would likely be an example of
a female mask. Other indications of
gender are the fl at nose–forehead
extension crest and its rectangular,
pouting mouth.
FIG. 10 (below left):
Sketch by Frans M.
Olbrechts of the ex-Périer
Luba mask currently in
the Berlin Museum of
Ethnology.
MAS | Museum aan de Stroom,
Antwerp.
© Collectiebeleid Musea en Erfgoed,
Antwerp.