Eastern Pende Antelope Mask “Ngolo”
Pende people, DR Congo, 1st half 20th c.
Carved wood with pigments
Ex–collection of Emmanuel Ameloot, Ghent, Belgium
21” h x 5.25” w (53.3 x 13.3 cm)
Price: $2,200
Ngolo masks featured in the seclusion rites of male circumcision (mukanda), the act of which was widely thought to guarantee male fertility. According to Strother (2008: 15), “Eastern Pende mukanda masks play on the idea that the initiates have become ‘like’ creatures of the bush by fusing human and animal features. Every camp must have at least one Ngolo, which technically is a mask with two straight horns invoking generic antelope horns.” The example at hand represents a roan antelope, an animal traditionally regarded with much fear on account of the ease with which it could eviscerate hunters (Strother 2008: 15).
