Cap mask

Object Details

Pende artist

Label Text

The form of this relatively naturalistic mask (giwoyo) is defined by the head and the extension beneath the chin known as gilanga or mutumbi. The head has a jutting triangular-shaped forehead, partially closed triangular-shaped eyes, eyebrows that join to make an M-shaped line, prominent cheekbones, an upturned nose and a small downturned mouth. The extension, to which a raffia border is attached, is embellished with a series of striking light and dark triangles at the top and diamond shapes below.

Pende describe giwoyo as one of their oldest masking traditions which originally came from Angola and predate the Pende migration into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the only Pende mask worn on top of the head, like a baseball cap, and the only major village mask to be performed in the bush. The strongly chiseled features of the mask allow the audience to view the mask's profile at a distance during performances. Recent scholarship says that the mask represents a cadaver on its funeral bier at a wake. Giwoyo might represent the survival of an archaic ritual in which the masquerade ushered the spirit of the departed out of the village. Further scholarly speculation centers on the possibility that in the past Pende masquerading may have been part of a complex of funeral rituals.

Description

Mask with a face in the shape of two triangles. the longest sides meet in the middle and divide the face in half. There is an extension projecting downward from the chin patterned with black and white diamond shaped motifs. The lower half is fringed with raffia.

Provenance

Dr. Muller, collected in Belgian Congo, 1924 to 1938

Muller Family Collection, Brussels, until 1984

Emile M. Deletaille, Brussels, 1984 to 1985

Exhibition History

Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, October 15, 2015-March 9, 2016

African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed July 16, 2014 to September 11, 2015)

Published References

Images of Power and Identity: Selections from the Permanent Collection. 1999 (?). Exhibition brochure. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

National Museum of African Art. 1988. The Permanent Collection of the National Museum of African Art, Large-Type Edition. Museum brochure. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 124, no. 85.

Petridis, Constantine. 2013. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art; Milan: 5 Continents Editions, p. 20, no. 12.

Strother, Zoé Sara. 2008. Visions of Africa: Pende. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, pp. 67, 105, no. 10.

Strother, Zoé Sara. 2016. Humor and Violence: Seeing Europeans in Central African Art. Indiana University Press.

Content Statement

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Credit Line

Museum purchase

Early 20th century

Object number

85-15-5

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Mask

Medium

Wood, raffia, pigment

Dimensions

H x W x D: 71.1 x 52.1 x 19.7 cm (28 x 20 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.)

Geography

Democratic Republic of the Congo

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

Object Name

giwoyo

National Museum of African Art

Topic

male

Record ID

nmafa_85-15-5

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys754b93c09-f8f6-401c-a335-4fc24989d1e0