Mask "mbuya" ·  D. R. Congo, Pende · ID: 3036199

Description

light brown wood, brown patina, kaolin, black paint, elaborate raffia bast bonnet, characteristic: horizontal brows and eyes with nearly closed lids, incised tattoos on the cheeks, pierced around the rim, min. dam., traces of abrasion;
circumcision and initiation are mandatory for young men and culminate with some maskers representing village character types, in more than 15 different forms, all called “mbuya”: including the mad man “tundu”, the prostitute “ngobo”, the young flirt “gabuku”, the diviner “nganga”, the long-bearded man “kiwoyo-muyombo” and the chief’s mask “phumbu”.

The object Mask “mbuya” with the object ID 3036199 was last part of the auction 76th tribal art auction at March 22, 2014 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 585 achieved a sales price of EUR 500.

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