English description below
CONGO DRC
HEMBA - Large Zoomorphic Monkey (Chimpanzee) Mask
Local names:
“Mwisi Gwa So’o” and “Soko Mutu”.
This mask expresses in the "smile" of the oversized mouth, the grimacing features of the chimpanzee, considered by the Hemba as "a ferocious animal, highly agnostic, even predatory of humans" (Blakely in African Arts, vol. 21, no. 1, 1987, p. 32). It appeared at funerals, in order to illustrate a chaotic afterlife opposing the ordered world of the living (idem, p. 36).
The Hemba people live in eastern Congo DRC, between the Lualaba River (Congo River) to the west and Lake Tanganyika to the east. Their territory is structured around the Luika River, which separates the northern and southern Hemba. They are therefore present in the south of Maniema province as well as in the north of Tanganyika province.
They are geographically and culturally close to the Luba.
Features:
OBJECT TYPE: Mask.
ETHNIC GROUP: Hemba, Bahemba.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Democratic Republic of Congo DRC
(ex Belgian Congo, ex Zaire).
MATERIAL: Wood.
DIMENSIONS: Height 29 cm.
CONDITION: Fair - Poor
(See photos).
Delivered WITHOUT the base.
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Bibliography - Bibliography
- So'o Masks and Hemba Funeral Festival, Thomas D. Blakely and Pamela AR Blakely, African Arts, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Nov., 1987), pp. 30-37+84-86 (11 pages)
- The great Hemba statuary of Zaire, François Neyt, 1977, UCL Louvain-La-Neuve.
- African Arts, vol. 21, No. 1, 1987. Blakely
- Masks in Congo, Viviane Baeke, Baeke, Arthur Bourgeois, Kellim Brown, David Binkley, Rik Ceyssens, Marc Leo Felix, Pol Pierre Gossiaux, Manuel Jordanl, Constantin Petridis, Zoë Stroher, Julien Volper, Pan Yanqin. Edition Marc Leo Félix, 2016
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Zoomorphic Chimpanzee Mask
“Mwisi Gwa So’o” & “Soko Mutu”
Powerful large mask
The Hemba live in eastern Congo DRC, between the Lualaba river (Congo river), to the west, and Lake Tanganyka, to the east
Their territory is articulated around the Luika river which delimits the Hemba of the north and those of the south. They are therefore present in the south of the province of Maniema as well as in the north of the province of Tanganyka.
They are geographically and culturally close to the Luba
Features:
TYPE OF OBJECT: Chimpanzee Mask.
ETHNICAL GROUP: Hemba, Bahemba. .
ORIGIN: Democratic Republic of Congo.
DRC (former Belgian Congo, former Zaire).
MATERIAL: Wood.
DIMENSIONS: About 11 1/2 inches high (29 cm)
CONDITION: Medium - Bad
Please have a look on pictures
Base is NOT included
