Rare and Unusual Western Pende Mask
Western Pende people, DR Congo, 1st half 20th c.
Wood, pigments, fiber
Ex–collection of Emmanuel Ameloot, Ghent, Belgium
14” h x 8.5” x 4” d (35.6 x 21.6 x 10.2 cm)
Price: $2,800
The forked protuberance issuing from the mouth is highly unusual.
Although there exists a general distinction between the masks of the “Eastern” and “Western Pende,” there is in reality considerable variety of type throughout Pende country, and the aforementioned regional distinctions often fall more along a continuum and feature many exceptions. What is more, there is no consistent distribution of mask types—some chiefdoms may, for instance, have possessed plaited (minganji) but no sculptured masks (mbuya)—and it likewise bears noting that the very nomenclature employed to describe them is not uniform across Pendeland (Biebuyck 1985 [Vol 1.]: 225ff).
Owing to the effects of rapid cultural cultural transformation induced by Belgian colonial rule, the specific functions of many Pende masks are not known with exactitude and may have assumed new meanings and contexts in response to external stimuli. It would seem that many masks had a primary as well as one or more auxiliary functions. Masks were often used to confer protection, signify status, sanctify political authority, and establish social control; others had narrower associations with specific but highly important religious rites, especially those connected with circumcision (Biebuyck 1985 [Vol 1.]: 227ff).
