© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

ClassificationsAfrican Art

Mask with Head Cloth (Ngady Mwaash)

Place CreatedDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Africa

CultureKuba, Bushong

Date19th Century

MediumWood, fiber, shells, cloth, beads, skin, pigment

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions17 5/16 x 11 7/16 x 7 1/16 in. (44 x 29 x 18 cm)

Object number1994.004.093

Label TextVarious Kuba groups produce the Ngady Mwaash mask representing Mweel, the sister of their culture-hero Woot. In the southern Kuba area, this female mask performs with male masks, like the pwoom itok at dances held to honor deceased members of the initiation society, while at the capital of Nsheng, it forms part of a mask triad which performs dances related to the mythic origin of the Kuba people. The mwashombwooy is another mask in this triad.

The decorative patterns on the face of the mask represent sacrality and mourning. Lines running down from the eyes are read as tears shed at the death of an initiated man. The black-and-white triangular pattern, a motif called ntshuum anyim, "the king's house," denotes the black stones of the hearth and domesticity. The fabric hat is distinctive to Kuba female diviners. The costume is completed by a pair of gloves and slippers, a raffia fiber skirt, and a hide or bark cloth vest with attached wooden breasts.

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 1, December 15, 1995 - February 1997
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 2, February 1997 - July 1998
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 3, September 26, 1998 - Spring 2003
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, November 19, 2007 - December 1, 2014
Published ReferencesMichael C. Carlos Museum Handbook (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 1996), 110.

ProvenanceEx coll. William S. Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia.

Status

Not on view

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