African Arts Gallery

Kneeling on the bowl of the pipe, the female figure has her hands joined on her abdomen. The tip springs from the top of the cap. Glossy black patina. Height on base: 22 cm.
The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern settled on the banks of the Kasaï downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of neighboring ethnic groups, Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu imprinted on their large tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity, the Mbuya masks, realistic, produced every ten years, take on a festive function, and embody different characters, including the chief, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc... The masks of initiation and those of power, the minganji, represent the ancestors and occur successively during the same ceremonies, agricultural festivals, initiation and circumcision rituals mukanda, enthronement of the chief.
Source: Kerchache, "African Art"; "100 people of Zaire and their sculpture" M.L. Félix