unidentified Congolese

Description

Although masks in this form frequently have been called mosh¹ambooy (CMS no. 373; Maesen 1967:36; Cornet 1971:138), recent research by Binkley indicates that it is probably of a type called mukyeem. The masks are characterized by a shape resembling the trunk of an elephant which projects from the top of the head. Mukyeem may have originated to the east of the Bushongo, the rulers of the Kuba nation, among the Ngeende and the Ngongo (Binkley 1979). The mask is constructed of layers of woven raffia palm fiber, decorated with white cowrie shells and red, white, black, and blue beads. -- Professor Christopher Roy, School of Art and Art History, University of Iowa Contact the Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa: https://stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu/about/contact/ The Stanley Collection single object 2007 Mask worn over head Southern Savannah Kasai/ Sankuru Rivers Royal initiation dances Initiation Governance Kuba 250,000 BaKuba, in the Central Bantu cluster of languages Central Zaire, at the confluence of the Sankuru and Kasai Rivers Chokwe, Luba, Luluwa, Lele In the 16th century, the Kuba peoples migrated from the distant north to their current location along the Sankuru River. When they arrived, however, they found that the Twa already lived there. The Twa were eventually absorbed into the Kuba Kingdom, but retained some independent cultural characteristics. The height of the Kingdom was during the mid 19th century. Europeans first reached the area in 1884, but the Kuba, being relatively isolated, were not as affected by the slave trade as many...