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Female Mask (Gambanda or Kambanda)
early 1900s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Realized in typical Central Pende style, this mask is believed to represent <em>gambanda</em>, the chief's wife. In light of Pende theories about gender and physiognomy, the mask is an ideal expression of a woman's facial features and thus reflects her calm, obedient, peaceful, and self-controlled demeanor. The intricate hairstyle consisting of hundreds of miniature braids imitates a once fashionable hairdo.
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Details
- Title: Female Mask (Gambanda or Kambanda)
- Date Created: early 1900s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 27 x 22 x 28.5 cm (10 5/8 x 8 11/16 x 11 1/4 in.)
- Provenance: Field-collected by Belgian territorial administrator, Maurice Matton, in the Bandundu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then still Belgian Congo), Ex collection Annie and Jean-Pierre Jernander, Brussels, Belgium, (Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, France, lot 29, June 29, 1996, sold to private collection), Private collection, (Sotheby's, Paris, France, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Mask
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.150
- Medium: Wood, plant fiber, and colorant
- Department: African Art
- Culture: Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pende-style maker
- Credit Line: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
- Collection: African Art
- Accession Number: 2008.150
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