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This striking ivory sculpture is a maternity
figure, made by the Pende of Gabon and Zaire.
It is a rare piece, as the Pende do not make
many such objects. It portrays an intriguingly-
proportioned woman with short, powerful legs
seated upon a low stool. She has a very long
torso, a squared head and long arms that
support a child upon her back. Detailing is
excellent, with small, pert breasts, incised dot
decoration across the chest, arms/wrists and
abdomen, and a serene face with downturned
eyes, a triangular nose and a narrow mouth;
the cheeks and forehead are decorated with
further lines of incised dots. The child looks to
his/her left, wearing a smaller dome-shaped
hat and lines of facial scarifications along the
forehead. The figure is unpainted, with a
fabulous glossy patina.
The Pende live in the Loango and Kasai River
area in what was once Zaire. They have a
complex history of interaction with the Lunda
Empire and the Tchokwe, and are affiliated
with the Yaka and Suku, with which they
share a common origin (Angola). They are
governed by a loose network of localised chiefs
(Djigo) and what essentially amounts to a
landed aristocracy. Social structures – and
thus most of their artworks – are centred on
age groups which are circumcised and enter
adulthood together, with what essentially
amounts to a gerontocracy through the
society. The spiritual welfare of Pende
communities is controlled by family heads
(usually the eldest maternal uncle of a family
– the society is matrilineal) and village
diviners. Ancestor spirits (mvumbi) are either
good or bad, determined by the manner in
which the ancestor died, and can harm the
family unless appeased and cared for. Spirits
may demand that the holy man make a
sculpture, to which offerings are made.
So far as artistic production is concerned, the
Pende are divided into Eastern and Western
groups, although these divisions are socially
artificial and the Pende consider themselves to
be a single people. A great deal of Pende art is
basically regalia, including ivory mask
pendants (Ikhoko), staffs, adzes, cups whistles
and much else. There are fifteen mask forms
in the Western group, all of which are
somewhat similar in possessing downcast
eyes, protruding teeth and a triangular nose.
The Eastern group possess only about four
variants. Pende figures are rare, and represent
ancestors; some female sculptures have also
been recovered, and are believed to be
maternity figures. These appear to first have
been carved at the start of the 20th century.
Ivory versions of these figures are very rare
indeed. It would have been made for a very
important member of Pende society.
- (CK.0101)
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