Entomological box with Teke and Lucanidae mask

Museum-style glass entomological box (26×33 x6 cm) in good condition (made by Deyrolle) containing a small "passport" mask from the Téké ethnic group, in polychrome softwood (white, red and black), as well as 21 Lucanidae (Beetles whose males have antler-shaped mandibles, hence their nickname "kite") of various sizes and species. Four splendid, large bicolored males (shiny light brown and black), plus numerous other males of smaller, brown or bicolored species. Also present: six females, recognizable by their much smaller "beak-shaped" mandibles.
The Téké ethnic group originates from the vast tropical rainforests of Haut-Ogoué, a tributary of the Zaire River in the former Congo Brazzaville. Not so long ago, when gathering in the forest, Téké women and children (as well as the Pygmies living in the heart of the same forests) gathered from the huge fallen and rotting tree trunks the enormous larvae, a kind of large white worm, of lucans and other large beetles, whose females lay their eggs in the rotting wood, to feed on them, raw, boiled or grilled.
The box and beetles shown here around the mask are in perfect condition.