Pende statuette from Kasai, DRC - Lot 191

Pende statuette from Kasai, DRC Female figure sculpted in a naturalistic style, featuring the famous half-closed female gaze known as "zanze". Depicted nude, with her hands on her chest, she adopts a concentrated expression. These statues were generally part of a fertility cult and were kept in a room in the chief's home. Medium brown satin patina 43 x 7 cm The Western Pende live on the banks of the Kwilu, while the Eastern Pende have settled on the banks of the Kasai downstream from Tshikapa. The influences of the neighboring Mbla, Suku, Wongo, Leele, Kuba and Salempasu ethnic groups have left their mark on their extensive tribal art sculpture. Within this diversity, the realistic Mbuya masks, produced every ten years, have a festive function and embody various characters, including the chief, the diviner and his wife, the prostitute, the possessed, etc. Initiation masks and power masks (minganji) represent the ancestors, and are performed successively during the same ceremonies: agricultural festivals, initiation and circumcision rituals (mukanda), and the enthronement of the chief. Governed by family chiefs, the d jogo , with a priestly function, the Pende have sculptures designed to make contact with the ancestors, to whom sacrifices are offered. They are stored in a room or house adjoining that of the chief.