Mid 20th Century Pende Tribal Mask | DRC

Traveling Man Treasures Curiosity Vault is selling this exceptional Pende mask, made by the Pende peoples of Gabon and Zaire. The ornately painted long beard denotes that it is a Kiwoyo-Muyombo mask, and would have been made to wear during masquerades for the commemoration of circumcision and initiation. It is fashioned in the traditional Western Pende design, with downcast eyes, triangular nose, and a small mouth beneath relief brows and vertical scarification marks on the forehead. The base is reddish in color; the bushy raffia “beard” is decorated with geometric dark and light patterns, and the mask is covered with a large textile hat.

DIMENSIONS:

19” H x 9” W x 6” D

The Pende live in the Loango and Kasai River area in what was once Zaire. They have a complex history of interaction with the Lunda Empire and the Tchokwe, and are affiliated with the Yaka and Suku, with which they share a common origin (Angola). They are governed by a loose network of localized chiefs (Djigo) and what essentially amounts to a landed aristocracy. Social structures – and thus most of their artworks – are centered on age groups which are circumcised and enter adulthood together, with what essentially amounts to a gerontocracy through the society. The spiritual welfare of Pende communities is controlled by family heads (usually the eldest maternal uncle of a family – the society is matrilineal) and village diviners. Ancestor spirits (mvumbi) are either good or bad, determined by the manner in which the ancestor died, and can harm the family unless appeased and cared for. Spirits may demand that the holy man make a sculpture, to which offerings are made.

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