Kuba chiefs and notables make abundant use of cauris not only for their finery but also for their clothing and accessories, as well as for certain masks such as moshambwooy and its variant mukyeem, its parèdre ngaady a mwaash and bwoom. In this way, they flaunt their prosperity and pre-eminence in the rigid social hierarchy. – From A. Vanderstraete in Monnaies, objets d’échange, Afrique, Asie, Océanie, Genève, Paris, Musée Barbier-Mueller, Somogy Éditions d’art, 2016, p. 175

Artist: Kuba, Democratic Republic of Congo

Place of Design: Democratic Republic of Congo

Cauris, glass beads, plant fibers

Size: Diam. 29 cm

Museum: Musée Barbier-Mueller