Bodymask of a pregnant woman "ndimu" · Tanzania, Makonde · ID: 3035159
Marc L. Felix, Brussels, Belgium
Description
wood, lusterless dark brown patina, rectangular breast board, carved with a nearly naturalistic depiction of an advanced stadium of pregnancy, slightly dam., minor missing parts (navel area, base of the breast plate), cracks, rep. (the bottom of the belly spread with blackish mass, can be seen on the inside as well), inscription “FE9075” in white paint backside, metal socle;
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 birth.
The object Bodymask of a pregnant woman “ndimu” with the object ID 3035159 was last part of the auction 74th tribal art auction at September 7, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 448 achieved a sales price of EUR 6,000.
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Exhibition
"Bauchmasken der Makonde", Galerie Fred Jahn, Stuttgart, 19. October - 16. November 1991