Masque "mbuya" ·  R. D. Congo, Pende · ID: 3042609

Description

wood, reddish brown patina, black paint, kaolin, bonnet and remains of a costume form raffia bast, hairdo with dark plant fibre, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, base.
Mask type called “the female mask” or “gambanda”. The dancer dresses like a beautiful young girl liable to become the trophy wife of a high-status male. The female mask dances to the rhythms of comtemporary popular dances and performs little comedies with a mirror and comb to suggest her vanity and preoccupation with appearance.

Littérature comparée

Strother, Z.S., Inventing masks, Chicago 1998, 217 ff.