Mask "mbuya"

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Description

wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, a bonnet made from raffia bast and plant fibres, horizontal brows and eyes with nearly closed lids, pierced around the rim, min. dam., fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion, base;
masks of the Pende were used to worship the chief and for initiation rites or for sacred purposes of the priests. In particular, this artist has captured the “bedroom eyes” (“zanze”) believed essential to women’s power over men.

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Comparing literature

Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, Munich 2009, p. 499

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