African Arts Gallery

Extended by a long neck adorned with alternating decorative motifs, the structure of this mask is reminiscent of certain Pende circumcision masks, the features reflecting a certain softness mixing Mbala and Pindi influences. Locally chipped crusty polychrome patina.
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The Kwésé are established among other tribes such as the Mbala and the Hungaan, along the banks of the Kwango River in the Democratic Republic of congo. A triumvirate chooses the territorial chiefs on whom the village chiefs depend. The Kwese mainly cultivate millet, maize and cassava and fish in the local rivers using traps and baskets. The neighboring ethnic groups have strongly influenced the style of their sculpture, sometimes erroneously attributed to the Pende, the Suku or the Mbalas. In addition to figures representing chiefs, named ngoola and gabundu, they produced maternities, masks of the same type as those of the Sukus, small fetish masks, objects and prestigious furniture. A heart-shaped face and the use of polychrome pigments frequently distinguish their masks.