Ikhoko pendant mask
Ikhoko pendant mask
Ikhoko pendant mask
Ikhoko pendant mask

On view

African Art

Ikhoko pendant mask,

20th century, before 1975

Artist unrecorded
Pende
y1992-58
The honey-colored, glossy surfaces and smooth features of these miniature ivory masks suggest the intimacy of their use as jewelry. The color of the ivory deepened through extended contact with the wearer’s body oils, sweat, and red cosmetic camwood powder. While the warm tones are prized by collectors, Pende owners sought to preserve the whiteness of the ivory by scrubbing the pendants with sand. Over time, this mild abrasive could blur the masks’ features, as it did on these ivory masks.

Information

Title
Ikhoko pendant mask
Dates

20th century, before 1975

Maker
Artist unrecorded
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
5 × 2.7 × 1.4 cm (1 15/16 × 1 1/16 × 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Perry E. H. Smith, Class of 1957
Object Number
y1992-58
Place Made

Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kwilu Province

Culture
African, Pende
Type
jewelry, ornament, pendants (jewelry)
Materials
ivory
Techniques
carving
Subject
faces, masks (costume)

Purchased by Perry E.H. Smith (1936?-2019) in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) between 1971 and circa 1975; donated to the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, 1992.

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