Mask (Mwaash aMbooy)
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Object Label
The Mwaash aMbooy mask personifies Wóót, mythical ancestor of the Kuba peoples. Kings and dancers performed this mask during initiations and funerals. One performance told the story of Wóót’s role in the Kuba kingdom's founding and his ties to its first ruler. Mwaash aMbooy’s physical features underscore an ideal Kuba leader’s traits. Its monkey-fur beard symbolizes wisdom. The cowrie shells were a royal privilege and a sign of wealth. They also reference how Wóót stole the creator god’s bead-and-cowrie-covered basket of knowledge. Its costume evoked royal regalia. While Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington, on view nearby, turned an individual into an icon, the Wóót mask connected a Kuba ruler to his dynastic past.
Caption
Kuba (Bushoong subgroup) artist. Mask (Mwaash aMbooy), late 19th or early 20th century. Rawhide, paint, plant fibers, textile, cowrie shells, glass, wood, monkey pelt, feathers, 22 x 20 x 18 in. (55.9 x 50.8 x 45.7 cm) mount: 23 × 18 × 16 in. (58.4 × 45.7 × 40.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.1582. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Mask (Mwaash aMbooy)
Date
late 19th or early 20th century
Geography
Place made: Kasaï Province (former Kasaï-Occidental Province), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Medium
Rawhide, paint, plant fibers, textile, cowrie shells, glass, wood, monkey pelt, feathers
Classification
Dimensions
22 x 20 x 18 in. (55.9 x 50.8 x 45.7 cm) mount: 23 × 18 × 16 in. (58.4 × 45.7 × 40.6 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
Accession Number
22.1582
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Can you tell me more about use of cowrie shells?
Cowrie shells were a form of currency in 19th century Congo.These are objects that have traveled thousands of miles from the coast to the center of the Congo to where the Kuba live.They are on the mask as a symbol of the king's wealth and power.
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