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Realized in typical Central Pende style, this mask is believed to represent <em>gambanda</em>, the chief's wife. In light of Pende theories about gender and physiognomy, the mask is an ideal expression of a woman's facial features and thus reflects her calm, obedient, peaceful, and self-controlled demeanor. The intricate hairstyle consisting of hundreds of miniature twists imitates a once fashionable hairdo. Pende sculptors inherited their position and often worked on the outskirts of the village so that few could see them at work.

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
0237c588fa192712
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
166209
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "166209",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Female Mask (Gambanda or Kambanda)",
    "description": "Realized in typical Central Pende style, this mask is believed to represent <em>gambanda</em>, the chief's wife. In light of Pende theories about gender and physiognomy, the mask is an ideal expression of a woman's facial features and thus reflects her calm, obedient, peaceful, and self-controlled demeanor. The intricate hairstyle consisting of hundreds of miniature twists imitates a once fashionable hairdo. Pende sculptors inherited their position and often worked on the outskirts of the village so that few could see them at work.",
    "date": "early 1900s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.150",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Mask"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.150/2008.150_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.150/2008.150_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.150/2008.150_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 27 x 22 x 28.5 cm (10 5/8 x 8 11/16 x 11 1/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pende-style maker"
    ],
    "accession": "2008.15"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "166209",
    "label": "Female Mask (Gambanda or Kambanda)",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "166209",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Female Mask (Gambanda or Kambanda)",
    "description": "Realized in typical Central Pende style, this mask is believed to represent <em>gambanda</em>, the chief's wife. In light of Pende theories about gender and physiognomy, the mask is an ideal expression of a woman's facial features and thus reflects her calm, obedient, peaceful, and self-controlled demeanor. The intricate hairstyle consisting of hundreds of miniature twists imitates a once fashionable hairdo. Pende sculptors inherited their position and often worked on the outskirts of the village so that few could see them at work.",
    "date": "early 1900s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.150",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Mask"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.150/2008.150_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.150/2008.150_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.150/2008.150_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 27 x 22 x 28.5 cm (10 5/8 x 8 11/16 x 11 1/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pende-style maker"
    ],
    "accession": "2008.15"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "Wood, plant fiber, and colorant",
    "tombstone": "Female Mask (Gambanda or Kambanda), early 1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pende-style maker. Wood, plant fiber, and colorant; overall: 27 x 22 x 28.5 cm (10 5/8 x 8 11/16 x 11 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2008.150",
    "collection": "African Art",
    "didYouKnow": "This female mask would have performed in a collective multimedia event with audience participation.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Guimiot, Philippe and Lucien Van de Velde. <em>Arts Premiers d'Afrique, Noire</em>. Brussels: Crédit Communal de Belgique, 1977.",
            "page_number": "fig. 94"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Bastin, Marie-Louise. <em>Introduction aux Arts d'Afrique Noire. </em>Arnouville: Arts d'Afrique Noire (91), 1984.",
            "page_number": "fig. 330"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Herreman, Frank, Constantijn Petridis, et al. <em>Face of the Spirits: Masks from the Zaire Basin.</em> Gent: Snoeck-Ducaju, 1993.",
            "page_number": "fig. 22"
        },
        {
            "citation": "de Grunne, M. Bernard. <em>Importarte Vente d'Art Africain Collection: A. et J. P. Jernander. </em>Bruxelles: Droutot-Richelieu, 1996.",
            "page_number": "lot 29"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Strother, Z. S. <em>Inventing Masks: Agency and History in the Art of the Central Pende</em>. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.",
            "page_number": "plate 6"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Strother, Z. S. <em>Pende: The Experience of Art</em>. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, 2008.",
            "page_number": "plate 24, p. 106"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Sotheby's. <em>Cataloguing Preview: Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie. </em>2008.",
            "page_number": "lot 47"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Sotheby's. <em>Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, d'Asie du Sud-Est: Importantes Collections. </em>2008. Paris: Sotheby's (December 4, 2008).",
            "page_number": "pp. 202–203"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Petridis, Constantine. \"New Acquisitions of African Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art\". <em>African Arts</em>. (44) No. 1, Spring 2011. Pg. 65, Fig. 13."
        },
        {
            "citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: P. 34-35"
        },
        {
            "citation": "Smith, Fred T., Judith Perani, Joseph L. Underwood, and Martha J. Ehrlich. <em>The Visual Arts of Africa: Gender, Power, and Life Cycle Rituals.</em> Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: p. 275, no. 9.11"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.150",
    "creditline": "Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 08:34:49.119000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.150/2008.150_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 166209,
    "dept": "African Art",
    "coll": "African Art",
    "med": "Wood, plant fiber, and colorant",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
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    "type": "photo",
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