Northern Congolese Mask, probably Ubangi River Region, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Private Collection, New York, acquired circa 1970s

The rare style of this mask, which shows signs of considerable age and a long period of use, relates to the masks of the Ngbaka people and surrounding cultures of the Ubangi river region.   The concave shape of the face, small horizontal rectangular mouth, pyramidal nose, and C-shaped ears are consistent with masks recorded from that region (see Grootaers 2007: 168-171).  Furthermore the present mask shows evidence of having previously had insertions of wooden pegs representing teeth, as well as pegs around the forehead and chin, a characteristic seen in Ubangi masks.