Ikhokho Pendant Pende Mask ( also named Gikhokho)

SIZE H= 5,5 cm.

H= 11 cm on his fine custom-made metal and wood base that is included in your purchase.

The Central Pende from the  Democratic Republic of the Congo replicate masks in miniature form. Wooden versions produced by healing specialists are prescribed by diviners as remedies. In contrast, their ivory counterparts, named Ikhokho, are made by professional sculptors to be worn around the neck as decorative pendants to protect.

While its texture and resistance to cracking make elephant ivory the material of choice, the thighbones of hippopotamuses allow artists to achieve comparable effects. Bodily contact through wear alters the whiteness of the pendants. Although this effect is prized by Western collectors, the Pende themselves scrub the ornament's surface daily with water and abrasive sand in order to maintain its original color, a process which blurs the features over time.

Estimated Date: first half XXth century before 1947.

Provenance: I bought it from a Belgian colonial who was in Congo during the second world war.

Culture: Pende peoples

Medium: hippopotamus thighbones.