Lega Passport Mask with Raffia Beard, Based

Rust-brown skull-like face with pale hollows and a full ruff of fibre.

This Lega passport mask of wood and kaolin with a raffia beard is Lega, from Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa, and dates to the 20th century. Raffia is the dried leaf fiber of a palm, and it is widely used in Central African masks to make beards and fringes beside the carved face. Rounded mask with a smooth reddish-brown surface and a chalk white heart-shaped patch around the eyes and nose. Narrow eye slits and a tiny mouth show on the face. A thick collar of natural fibre frames the chin. It is on a black stand. It is 3.75 inches wide, 1.5 deep and 9 high.

Pale-faced and quietly fluffy under the chin.