Body mask "ndimu" · Tanzania, Makonde · ID: 3032252
Toni Dähler, Basel, Switzerland
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Description
light wood, reddish brown patina, showing the body of a pregnant woman in a nearly naturalistic way, incised scarification marks, rep., dam., traces of abrasion;
the female body mask was used at initiation rites. It was part of the costume of a “ndimu” mask dancer, called “amwalin-dembo”, depicting a pregnant woman. It was always worn by a male dancer and was supplemented by a face mask. The dance demonstrated the pain of giving birth.
The object Body mask “ndimu” with the object ID 3032252 was last part of the auction 68th tribal art auction at March 3, 2012 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 264 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,200.
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Comparing literature
Phillips, Tom (Hg.), Afrika, Die Kunst eines Kontinents, Berlin 1996, p. 175