Mask - Pumbu - Pende - DR Congo
08
days
17
hours
31
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05
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Starting bid
€ 1
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Selected by Julien Gauthier
A decade of experience in historical arms, armour, and African art.
Estimate € 550 - € 650
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This mid-20th-century wooden Pumbu mask from the Pende culture of the DR Congo is 37 cm high and comes from a private collection.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
Pende Pumbu Mask.
DR Congo.
The Pumbu mask is one of the most feared ritual masks of the Western Pende, embodying the absolute authority, military power, and executioner role of the village chief. Distinguished by its bold facial features, the mask is brought out only during times of severe community crisis such as epidemics, famine, war, or the chief's critical illness. Its violent and erratic performance, where the dancer must be physically restrained by ropes to protect onlookers, serves to channel collective anxiety, neutralize spiritual threats, and symbolically re-establish social order and chiefship authority.
Provenance:
Belgian private collection
Object type: Pumbu Mask
Tribe: Pende
Material: wood
Height: 37 cm
The condition and potential fragments or signs of wear are documented in detail through presented photographs.
Shipment is included following further defined rates. Other delivery or pickup methods can be organised accordingly.
Seller's Story
Galerie Mutu is home to African fine art, ethnography and unique interior objects.
Galerie Mutu est un lieu de découverte d'art africain, pour le collectionneur contemporain passionné.
Galerie Mutu looft cultuur, authenticiteit en vakmanschap van onze Afrikaanse voorouders.
Website: galeriemutu .com
Instagram: galerie.mutu
E-mail: info@galeriemutu .com
Pende Pumbu Mask.
DR Congo.
The Pumbu mask is one of the most feared ritual masks of the Western Pende, embodying the absolute authority, military power, and executioner role of the village chief. Distinguished by its bold facial features, the mask is brought out only during times of severe community crisis such as epidemics, famine, war, or the chief's critical illness. Its violent and erratic performance, where the dancer must be physically restrained by ropes to protect onlookers, serves to channel collective anxiety, neutralize spiritual threats, and symbolically re-establish social order and chiefship authority.
Provenance:
Belgian private collection
Object type: Pumbu Mask
Tribe: Pende
Material: wood
Height: 37 cm
The condition and potential fragments or signs of wear are documented in detail through presented photographs.
Shipment is included following further defined rates. Other delivery or pickup methods can be organised accordingly.
Seller's Story
Galerie Mutu is home to African fine art, ethnography and unique interior objects.
Galerie Mutu est un lieu de découverte d'art africain, pour le collectionneur contemporain passionné.
Galerie Mutu looft cultuur, authenticiteit en vakmanschap van onze Afrikaanse voorouders.
Website: galeriemutu .com
Instagram: galerie.mutu
E-mail: info@galeriemutu .com
Details
Indigenous object name
Pumbu
Ethnic group/ culture
Pende
Country of Origin
DR Congo
Period
Mid 20th century
Material
Wood
Sold with stand
No
Condition
Good condition
Title of artwork
Mask
Height
37 cm
Provenance
Private collection
Authenticity
Original/official
Sold by
