A «Salampassu» mask

A «Salampassu» mask, wood, copper, fibers, pigment traces, Democratic Republic of Congo, 20th C. (mid), minor faults and defects, purchased from a merchant of Luau (former Teixeira de Sousa - border with the Kalanga), who had brought it from Sandoa (Katanga), in 1966, Provenance: Collection of Engineer Elísio Romariz dos Santos Silva, item number 16, mentioned in the notebook of the collector «Angola - Arte Negra, Relação e descrição das peças», identified in it as «Máscara - Asalampasu»: "Purchased [...] to a merchant from Luau [former Teixeira de Sousa] (border with the Kalanga), which he had brought from Sandoa (Katanga) in 1966". Another «Salampassú» mask is represented in FELIX, Marc Leo. - "100 Peoples of Zaire and Their Sculpture: The Handbook”. Brussels: Zaire Basin Art History Research Foundation, 1987, p. 153, nº 15., Dim. - (total) 51 cm