tribal colorful hand carved African Teke mask 13"

Description

This a beautiful and colorful Teke from the
Teke people, or Bateke also known as the Tyo or Tio, are a Bantu central African ethnic group that speak the Teke languages. Its population is situated mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, with a minority in Gabon. The name of the tribe shows what the occupation of the tribe was trading. The word
Teke
means 'to sell'. Teke masks are mainly used in traditional dancing ceremonies such as wedding, funeral and initiation ceremonies of young men entering adult hood. The mask is also used as a social and political identifier of social structure within a tribe or family. The dimension is 13 inches or 6.50 inches radius.
Note;  Patterns and designs differs slightly as these masks are made by the same tribe but different family.