Mask Kindombolo - Hangs from the East - DR Congo

Masque Kindombolo – Pende of the East – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), western Kasaï, central-southern region.
Culture / Ethnicity: Pende of the East
Material: Carved and pigmented wood
Support: Work provided with its original presentation plinth, custom-made.

- An exclusive, richly illustrated catalog accompanies the Wirtz Collection, with a detailed note dedicated to each of the works presented. (available on demand)

- Unpublished: Dated and signed composition, titled After the Wirtz collection, offering a pictorial evocation of the interior of the collection as it might have been represented in 1965.

Provenance

Former private collection of a member of the Wirtz family, Antwerp (Belgium), a family historically active in the travel sector.

According to information transmitted directly by his heir, this object was brought back from the Congo in the 1960s, then kept within the family.

The family collection was carefully preserved and exhibited in a room entirely dedicated, arranged in the spirit of a private cabinet of curiosities, where the works were gathered and showcased in an environment specially designed for their presentation.

Acquired directly from the heir, with whom this sale is carried out in collaboration.

Description & Study of the Work

Anthropomorphic facial mask Kindombolo, attributed to the Pende of the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Kindombolo holds a particularly original place in the vast repertoire of Pende masks. A character often provocative, comic and irreverent, it belongs to the universe of the fool or trickster: through its deliberately excessive behavior, it introduced a satirical and parodic dimension into the performance, contrasting with the more solemn characters of the masked repertoire.

The work presents the geometric aesthetics characteristic of the sculptural traditions of the Pende of the East. The face, compact and almost heart-shaped, is organized around a long vertical nasal ridge linking the forehead to the center of the composition. Boldly drawn eyebrow arches frame lowered eyelids, giving the mask a surprisingly inward expression.

Particularly remarkable are the series of small perforations arranged beneath the eyes, creating a powerful graphic effect and rhythm on the cheeks. They respond to the clean line that underscores the eyebrows and runs down the nose, while the small protruding mouth and the pointed chin complete this construction with a remarkable economy of means.

This exemplar immediately captivates with the contrast between the sobriety of its form and the strangeness of its expression. The nearly closed gaze seems calm and impassive, whereas the function traditionally associated with the Kindombolo is precisely that of a turbulent and mocking character. This opposition gives the mask a singular, almost enigmatic presence.

The beautiful reddish-brown patina, traces of light pigments, and visible surface wear give the whole a deep and living materiality. Viewed from three-quarters, the mask also reveals the subtlety of its modeling: a bulging forehead, a prominent nose, and a projected mouth gradually emerge from a deliberately pared-down face.

An object that is at once expressive, graphic, and deeply original, representative of the exceptional inventiveness of the East Pende masked repertoire.