Pwom itok mask. Bushoong/Ngeende, Kuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, 19th century.

Pwom itok mask. Bushoong/Ngeende, Kuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, 19th century.
Wood, crusted deposit.
Provenance: Kellim Brown, Brussels, Belgium.
Measurements: 28 cm (height).

One of the main Kuba dance masks is called pwoom itok. The main identifying feature is the shape of the eyes, whose centers are cones surrounded by holes through which the wearer sees. Like many types of Kuba masks, pwoom itok is profusely polychrome or multicolored.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Kuba kingdom of the Congo came to develop a community with distinct structure, traditions, architecture and art recognized by neighboring states. Its social organization was pyramidal, and this was the "secret" to develop a full-fledged state. From the king or nyim to the nobility, spiritual leaders, artisans and farmers. It is claimed that they had an unwritten constitution, separation of powers, elected political offices, taxes, laws, judges, juries, police and army. They even created an agricultural calendar that allowed them to obtain several harvests of corn per year, and an artistic production highly valued by collectors.