Mask "ngongo munene" · D. R. Congo/ Angola, Dinga · ID: 3032317
Eduard Hess, Basel, Switzerland
Description
hammer-wrought copper sheet, slit eyes and mouth, punched rosette on the forehead, slight traces of corrosion, old-age patina;
the masks called “ngongo munene”, “chief of the earth”, are used during the funerals of chiefs, the enthronement of a new chief and during the initiation of boys at the bush camps called “mukanda”. They are also manifestations of the agrarian village community “ekuluwanda”, designed for use in social and economical issues.
Because woman and children are not allowed to see the “ngongo munene” masks, they are kept by officials called “kfufutshi”, wrapped up in fabric and kept in a calabash stored in a small grass hut (“kaseke ya shifulumiko”), which was placed in a crotch.
The object Mask “ngongo munene” with the object ID 3032317 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 200 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,600.
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Comparing literature
Roy, Christopher D., Kilengi, Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Bareiss, München 1997, S. 213 Schädler, Karl-Ferdinand, Encyclopedia of African Art and Culture, München 2009, p. 180 Herreman, Frank, Petridis, Constantijn (ed.), Face of the Spirits, Tervuren 1993, p. 97