Tribal Art

Pende mask (N° 22483)

Symbolizing the wild buffalo, the African mask panya ngombe adopts a stretched, stylized form. The ears, framing long horizontal eyelids, spring out in a point towards the outer corners, conferring a dynamic. The contours are indented with decorative diamond patterns. Copies larger than required by the tribal canon were intended to be hung in the chief's hut, and logically did not present any internal signs of use. Matte black patina. Height on base: 31 cm.
The western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the eastern people have settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity, the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters, including the chief fumu or ufumu , the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the jester, tundu, the possessed, etc... The Mbuya initiation masks linked to the mukanda and those of power, the minganji , represent the ancestors and occur successively during the same ceremonies, agricultural festivals, rituals of initiation and mukanda circumcision, enthronement of the chief. (Art and Life in Africa, C.D. Roy)