Mask "ndeemba"
Click here to view a larger version of the imageLot: 316
93rd Tribal Art AuctionMask "ndeemba"
D. R. Congo, Yaka
Provenance | Size | Starting price / estimated price |
---|---|---|
Swedish missionary collection Max Willborg, Stockholm, Sweden (1979) Berndt Helleberg, Stockholm, Sweden Pierre Dartevelle, Brussels, Belgium Alex Arthur, Brussels, Belgium |
H: 21.7 inch | This object is not available anymore. |
wood, plant fibre, fabric, pigments, base
The small mask face is worked on paddle shaped handle. The bonnet is made of extremely fine woven fibre with five cone-shaped projections.
The mask was used in context of initiation "mukhanda", that includes circumcision rituals. To mark the end of the educational period, festivities are held in which the initiates perform with newly carved masks. The dance of the masks is accompanied by chants confirming the male supremacy and the social rank of the young men.
Bourgeois, Arthur: "Of Noses and Penises", Masculine Imagery among the Yaka of Southwestern Congo, in: Tribal Art Magazine XV:3 - no 60, Summer 2011, p. 109, Fig. 15