Mask, Bakongo/Yombe ; D.R.C. Congo
Wood, brass hobnails, pigments; H. 9 3/4"
According to Yombe belief, masks such
as this were worn by a ritual charm specialist,
nganga, in order to relieve a sick person
whose soul had been seized and taken into the forest
or across the waters. In many ways, this mask is
a tour de force; the soft and rounded, naturalistic
features appear almost as portraiture in relation
to the many masks that seem to rehash canonic imagery
without synthesis. Additionally, this striking example
seems to display a contradiction within itself as
the coloration (white coloring was seen as something
frightful and associated with the dead to the Bakongo)
adds a powerful and almost terrifying aspect to
the otherwise serene and brooding face.
