Small, white colored mask for the Bwame society. Rega (Lega), D.R. Congo. H 14.8cm, with beard made of plant fibers. Illustrated in: K.-F. Schaedler, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture (2009), p. 518. The Rega (Lega) are an important ethnic group living in a region west of the area between Lakes Tanganyika and Kivu, near the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Their works of art, mainly small figures and masks made of wood, but also of bone, ivory and elephant skin, are used almost exclusively for the rites of the Bwami (Bwame) society, whose far-reaching functions have been studied in detail by Daniel Biebuyck. The Rega masks are mainly seen as a status symbol and are part of the secret symbols of the various initiation classes. For example, only men of the lwa yananio and lutumbo lwa kindi are allowed to personally own a mask. The small masks do not represent specific personalities, but generalized human faces, such as that of the father, the life-giver and the center of authority. When used in dance, they serve as a reminder of the great virtues the fathers aspired to and the vices they rejected. These virtues must be cultivated from generation to generation in order to preserve Bwami and maintain social order. Intact. Provenance: ex Peter Loebarth, Hameln; ex Bernd Muhlack, Kiel; ex Walter Schmidt, Würzburg/Innsbruck; ex Zemanek-Münster, auction, Würzburg May 27, 2017, lot 59.