hanged mask - Pende - DR Congo (No reserve price)

Pendé mask from the South Bandundu, Kahemba region, Zaire (DRC), collected in the late 1950s near the Kimbulu mission, 32x18x12 cm. Original raffia in good condition; traces of ancient xylophagous activity are visible on the forehead, but they have been treated and cleaned a long time ago. This had weakened the upper left part which, in its time, was the subject of a so-called “indigenous” restoration (visible in the photos). The mask has nevertheless remained solid and in good condition. These characteristics attest to the authenticity and age of this beautiful Pendé mask, which have always been made from light woods.
Provenance: Galerie Les Naufragés du Temps, private collection, former R. P. Ménard collection (in the DRC 1957 to 1998) ethno-musicologist and former collaborator of the RMN national museums of Kinshasa from 1986 to 1991 for ethnomusicology collection with Benoit Quersin under the direction of Joseph Cornet.