Facial Mask Pongdoudu
Boa · Democratic Republic of the Congo
Reference: MFANT-169
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- Material
- Wood and pigments.
The Boa are related to the Mangbetu. Ancient warrior mask. His name “pongdudu“ means “he who causes terror to enemies,” is therefore a war mask intended…
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Full original description
The Boa are related to the Mangbetu. Ancient warrior mask. His name “pongdudu“ means “he who causes terror to enemies,” is therefore a war mask intended to cause dread on the adversary, as his name suggests. He prepared and encouraged ethnic men who had to enter combat by always placing themselves in the front line to be seen by the enemy. Its large, almost circular ears protruding frontally on the sides of the head stand out, the characteristic orifice of the ears is named after vavongoboThey are quite rare masks. Their ears huge ears and their black and white pigmentation are characteristic of this type of masks. These masks are difficult to get given the small number of specimens that are known.
Their statues are even rarer, their masks and they have healing and protective powers.
Further technical information
- Attributed period
- First third of the century XX or older
Details transcribed from the original catalogue; they are not a recent physical inspection.
Country on the map
Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country associated with the catalog is shown, not the current location of the piece.
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Attributions, dates and accounts come from the preserved catalogue. They do not constitute certification of authenticity or provenance. An object’s presence on this website does not mean it is available for sale.
