Description
DRC/Pende. Mask of disease "Mbangu" in carved wood. Middle of the 20th century. H 40 X 22 cm including base. This "Mbangu" mask, the bewitched one, is probably the most famous work of Pende art. It represents a bewitched man, stricken by a series of diseases or deformities inflicted on him by sorcerers. The face shows the marks of facial nerve paralysis. Despite this deformity, the distinctive characteristics of the Katundu style of this region are preserved: the eyebrow line in the shape of an inverted "W", the triangular nose and the pointed chin. A similar mask is kept in the Africa Museum in Tervuren (BXL). Prov. Jos Humblet Collection (BXL)
65
DRC/Pende. Mask of disease "Mbangu" in carved wood. Middle of the 20th century. H 40 X 22 cm including base. This "Mbangu" mask, the bewitched one, is probably the most famous work of Pende art. It represents a bewitched man, stricken by a series of diseases or deformities inflicted on him by sorcerers. The face shows the marks of facial nerve paralysis. Despite this deformity, the distinctive characteristics of the Katundu style of this region are preserved: the eyebrow line in the shape of an inverted "W", the triangular nose and the pointed chin. A similar mask is kept in the Africa Museum in Tervuren (BXL). Prov. Jos Humblet Collection (BXL)
