Mask - Congo (No reserve price)

MASQUE NGOBUDI KONGO YOMBE

In the western regions of the Kongo country, the nganga (ritual specialist priest) holder of an nkisi sometimes wore a traditional mask.

Nganga and nkisi resembled each other in that they were both mediators, bearers of the same powers.

This African mask was called Ngobudi, which means something dreadful, originally referring to a feeling of oppression in the pit of the stomach.

The face clearly shows the features also present on Nkisi-type statues that the priest used, whose eyes were also inlaid.

A relatively uncommon tribal mask.