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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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- 1
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- photo
- Media ID
- 0237c588fa192712
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- unknown
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- 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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