Mbangu's epileptic mask - Pende - DR Congo

The Pende Mbangu African masks come from the Pende people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and belong to a category of masks known as “illness” masks.

These carved wooden objects, often polychrome with a strong contrast between white and black areas, stylize a face deformed by infirmity, paralysis or epilepsy, traditionally considered the result of bad luck or sorcery: white symbolizes the hope of healing, black the disease or malevolent action.

Shown by auction houses such as Christie’s or Lempertz, these masks bear witness to a very singular aesthetic conception, where asymmetry and distortion are expressed through strong forms, sometimes regarded by specialists in modern art as an original recomposition of the human face.

In Pende culture, the Mbangu mask is worn during ritual dances – notably in festive or initiation contexts – in order to teach compassion, remind of human fragility and ward off malevolent forces.

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