Migrating with the Yaka people from Angola during 16th century, the 15,000 Lula settled along the banks of the Nseki River in Haut-Zaire Region. Today they live in autonomous villages and their economic survival depends on hunting and fishing. Stylistically, they are under influence of Teke and Yaka. 

In the 1980s, Lula masks first appeared in the West. They have an oblong shape and typical rounded eyes. They are thought to have been worn by the guardian of the initiation camps. Lula artists used white and blue pigments to accentuate shapes and surfaces on their masks.

This mask came to us from a private collection
Sold at Estate Sale