EO.1998.14.24-1
Likishi lya chizaluke. Masker met kostuum / Masque et costume / Mask with costume. Lenga Navo, Northwestern Province, Zambia. Created by Kenneth Lizambo. Late 20th century. Hide, plant fibre, pigment, paper, tar or resin, plastic. Field-collected by B. Wastiau.
Price : 3409 FB. 1997. EO.1998.14.24-1
A recent acquisition
This mask with costume was purchased in 1997 in the village of Lenga Navo, north-west Zambia, by Boris Wastiau, a curator at the Museum. The purchase followed a doctoral research project that involved long-term anthropological fieldwork. This research made it possible to gain in-depth knowledge about the cultural context of this mask and, in particular, the mukanda initiation, in which it played an important role. Using an existing network of contacts, the anthropologist was accompanied by an assistant who knew the area well. The assistant functioned as an interpreter, but also selected objects and interlocutors. The Zambian territorial authorities had to be informed in advance of the collecting in order to guarantee transparency and to respect the hierarchy between individuals. It is in this context that this mask could be purchased directly from its creator, Kenneth K. Lizambo.
Collecting today
For each item purchased, the researcher completes a strip with the date, location, seller’s identity, the amount paid, and a description of the sale. The accuracy of these accounting data makes it possible to find out the amount paid for the transaction, but, above all, the names of the informants, guides, and intermediaries. In addition to these factual data, the purchase is well documented because it relates to a contemporary object whose maker is also the seller. This is not the kind of purchase that the Museum made in earlier periods, when collectors often preferred older artefacts.