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Artworks
PENDE ARTIST
Mask, mbuya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, late 19th–early 20th centuryWood, fiber, pigmentsh. 43.2 cm
17 in.$ 7,000 | € 6,500 | £ 5,500This mask from the Pende people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is known as a mbuya. It represents a village character, most likely a possessed person or a...This mask from the Pende people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is known as a mbuya. It represents a village character, most likely a possessed person or a jester. Usually carved with exaggerated or dramatic features, it is characterized by long drooping eyelids, a prominent forehead and a detailed rafia hairdo with vertical conical tresses. This mask was danced in ceremonies to instruct the young initiates into adulthood and to honor ancestral authority.Provenance
Private Collection, New England
Mark Eglinton, New York
Private Collection, Chicago
