240143 – Extremely Beautiful Kuba Ceremonial Helmet Bwoom Mask & Sash – Congo

Extremely Beautiful Kuba Ceremonial Helmet Bwoom Helmet Mask & Sash, Congo.
Approximate Dimensions:
MASK: Weight: 4 kg Length: 40 cm Width: 37 cm
SASH: Weight: 1745 gms Length: 190 cm Width: 15 cm
A very large helmet mask and sash, a real museum piece.
This African tribal ceremonial Kuba helmet mask and sash with cowrie shells and beads is a beautiful work of art.
Made from mixed materials – embellished with cowrie shells, beads, seed pods, copper plates and sourced from the Kasia region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa. This mask and sash are original pieces, circa 1960, with intricate beadwork and cowrie shell details.
In the Kuba Kingdom, ceremonial occasions require ostentatious displays of wealth and status.
Kuba masks beautifully incorporate cowries into their elaborate designs, the beads and cowrie shells arranged in complex patterns, symbolizing power and wealth. They sew beads and shells onto a woven raffia base to create geometric designs. The sash, again with cowrie shells and beads, demonstrates its monetary value and the prestige of its owner, which men or women would wear during ceremonies. Cowrie shells are one of the most widespread and long-lived currencies in the world. Their weight varied only slightly, so the monetary value was calculated based on quantity.