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Horn (Pungi)

19th century, inventoried 1897

Not on view

In 1491 Kongo courtiers playing ivory horns, or mpungi, received the Portuguese delegation to Mbanza Kongo led by Ruy de Sousa. Beyond their prominence at court, mpungi were sounded to rally troops and to relay orders on the battlefield. At the Loango court musicians played “very melodiously on curved horns made from large and small elephant tusks” and announced the coming of the Maloango and of lesser princes. While early European visitors to Mbanza Kongo and Buali commented on the use of ivory horns in courtly pageantry, they did not remark on applied decoration.

Horn (Pungi), Wood, ivory, vegetable fiber, Kongo peoples — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Horn (Pungi), Wood, ivory, vegetable fiber, Kongo peoples

Horn (Pungi), Wood, ivory, vegetable fiber, Kongo peoples

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Horn (Pungi)

Date: 19th century, inventoried 1897

Geography: Cabinda, Angola

Culture: Kongo peoples

Medium: Wood, ivory, vegetable fiber

Dimensions: L. 40 1/8 in. (102 cm), Diam. 4 in. (10 cm)

Classification: Bone/Ivory-Musical Instruments

Credit Line: Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.