Mask "mbuya"
Click here to view a larger version of the imageLot: 447
87th Tribal Art AuctionMask "mbuya"
D. R. Congo, Pende
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
Guy Schraenen, Antwerp, Belgium | H: 7.3 inch (mask) | This object is not available anymore. |
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.
Strother, Z.S., Inventing masks, Chicago 1998, 217 ff.