Snuffbox

In addition to carving masks for men’s initiation masquerades, Pende artists were responsible for the creation of small ivory and wooden objects that were worn around the neck attached with a string. Most common in the first half of the twentieth century were pendants in the form of masks, but carvers also made small full-human figures. Wooden pendants depicting humans were made by healing specialists and were prescribed by diviners as remedies for illness or misfortune, but their ivory counterparts, ikhokho (sing. gikhokho), were made by professional sculptors and worn as decoration. Pende artists also made small utilitarian objects that could be worn around the neck, including whistles and small boxes. On this snuff box, a cord holds the lid, and the carver has sculpted a figure reminiscent of the full-figure ivory pendants that were made in abundance in the first half of the twentieth century. The circle and dot motif on this box was common through Central Africa, including amongst the Luba, who also wore ivory figures around their necks.

While the sculptor of this pendant has not been documented, art historian Zoe Strother describes the work of one sculptor, Gabama a Gingungu (ca. 1890s–1965) (Strother 1998:79). At the height of his career, he carved masks for local and foreign clients, but when he became too frail to cut down trees and haul wood for making masks, he turned to carving amulets of elephant and hippo ivory, materials he could purchase from local traders. One of Gabama’s protégés, a maternal nephew named Nguedia Gambembo, likewise in his later years switched from carving masks and large sculptures to making pendants, mainly from hippo ivory and sometimes ox bone. Small carvings became popular in the 1950s with local people and foreigners alike, although Pende women were discouraged from wearing mask pendants as masks were only performed by men. Following a rebellion against colonial rule in 1931, pendants also became a popular expression of group solidarity and resistance to the colonial state.

Enid Schildkrout, 2025
Curator Emerita, American Museum of Natural History