Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Face Mask (Nganga Nteshmi)
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Face Mask (Nganga Nteshmi)

Artist/Maker (Kuba Kingdom, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Dateca. 1926-1940
Mediumwood, pigment, raffia, cowrie shells, copper alloy and glass beads
DimensionsOverall: 15 1/4 x 13 5/8 x 12 3/8 in. (38.7 x 34.6 x 31.4 cm)
ClassificationsCostumes and Accessories
Credit LineMuseum purchase through the 2005 Director's Circle, the Linnie E. Dalbeck Memorial Endowment Fund and the Lowe Art Museum Acquisitions Fund in honor of Dr. Marcilene Wittmer
Terms
    Object number2005.5.2
    DescriptionAccording to tradition, Moshambwooy symbolizes Woot, the founder of the Kuba. Among the various groups that comprise the Kuba Kingdom, the Bushoong people provide the king, Nyimi, and it is their royal masks that represent the ideal dramatization of the legend of the founding of the Kuba and the establishment of the Kingdom. The female mask, Nganga Ntshemi, represents the ideal beautiful woman and sister/wife of the king, Moshambwooy. She also represents the practice of divination associated with royal women among a number of Central African peoples. Bwoom represents a primeval antagonist of the Kuba king, possibly modeled on the indigenous Pygmy people, who challenged the rule of Moshambwooy. The Moshambwooy mask is rare in American and European collections. More familiar is a provincial Kuba variation with a stylized elephant trunk and correctly known as Mukyeem or Mukenga.
    On View
    Not on view
    Collections
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Helmet Mask (Moshambwooy)
    Bushoong people
    20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Mask (Bwoom)
    Shama Woto
    1950s
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Box
    Kuba people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Woman's Headdress (Mpaan)
    Kuba people
    mid 20th century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Covered Box
    Kuba people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Face Mask (Idiok Ekpo)
    Ibibio people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Face Mask (Idiok Ekpo)
    Ibibio people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Lidded Basket
    Kuba people
    not dated
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Portrait of a Roman Matron
    Artist Unknown
    late 2nd to early 3rd century
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Standing Kore
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 525-500 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Bottle
    Chimú-Inca
    1460-1532
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Lunar Face Mask
    Eket people
    ca. 1960
    eMuseum
    Copyright © eMuseum