This is the rating and price for Lega Maskette For The Bwami Society, 1994

Description : LEGA MASKETTE FOR THE BWAMI SOCIETY, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO lukwakongo height 5 1/2in (14cm) Provenance: Gaston de Havenon, New York Quay-Lombrail, Paris, June 30, 1994, Lot 52 Lance Entwistle, London and Paris American Private Collection, acquired in 1994 Published Robbins, Warren, African Art: The de Havenon Collection, Washington, D.C., Museum of African Art, 1971, no. 243 Exhibited Washington, D.C, Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, African Art: The de Havenon Collection, May 1971 As noted by Elizabeth Cameron, ‘The genius of the Lega artist lies in taking the needs of the Bwami patron and producing a unique artwork that fits carefully within the canon. Each mask, for example, is unmistakably Lega in style and carefully fits within the confines of Bwami, but when placed with others, its uniqueness can be seen by the critic from an artistic point of view. When connoisseurs try to define Lega style, however, they find it almost impossible. The forehead bulges, except when it is flat, human faces, especially those depicted as masks, are heart-shaped, except when they are not. As aptly summarized by Ralph Altman, “Balega art . . .consists mainly of an infinite number of variations of a few motifs and f orms of sculpture.”’ (Art of the Lega, UCLA Fowler Museum, 2001, p. 67) Daniel Biebuyck notes, “All Lega carvings are made for the Bwami [the central, all-pervading, unifying institution in Lega society], used, owned and understood only by the higher membership. [. . .] In the final initiation rite of the highest order, the artworks are no longer interpreted, they are seen as a revelation, inspiring pure contemplation.” (La Sculpture des Lega, Galerie Hélène and Philippe Leloup, Paris/New York, 1994, p. 42)
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