Zande / Nzakara mask, CAR - Lot 139

Zande / Nzakara mask, CAR Shallow African Zande or Nzakara mask, incised with motifs corresponding to scarification marks, embellished with teeth and a metal ring. Thick brown patina, locally chipped, abrasions. 33 x 11 cm Height on base: 48 cm Formerly known as "Niam-Niam" because they were considered anthropophagous, the tribes grouped under the name Zande , Azandé , settled from Chad on the border of the D.R.C. (Zaire), Sudan and the Central African Republic. According to their beliefs, man is endowed with two souls, one of which transforms on death into the animal-totem of the clan to which he belongs. The African tribal art of the Zande, or "those who own much land", apart from their court art composed of spoons, receptacles, pipes and harps, includes two types of statues: Kudu statues, between 30 and 50 cm high, represent ancestors. There are also Yanda statues, 10 to 20 cm high, in animal or human form, with an apotropaic role, displayed during divinatory rites by the Mani-Yanda society. The leaders of this association grouped together a dozen statues on an altar in a hut in the forest.