A Mitsogho gong

Estimate

4,000 - 6,000 USD

bidding is closed

Description

mokenge, the hollowed iron resonator surmounted by a wooden handle, the long neck encircled by iron and leading to the broad, heart-shaped facial plane with slit eyes and circular mouth; '1002' under the base; aged and encrusted surface overall.

Provenance

Galerie Schoffel et Groux, Paris, before 1980
Paolo Morigi, Lugano, May 16, 1981

Literature

Chaffin and Chaffin 1980: 320-321, figure 203

Catalogue Note

Among the Mitsogho, the gong is highly symbolic. Employed by the Evóvi, a religio-judicial group, in its initiation ceremonies. The sound of the gong represents a man's heartbeat and the gong itself is emblematic of this society and its authority. This authority is further conveyed by the handle representing Kombe, a mythical being who is compared to the sun, the source of life and the 'supreme judge' (Freyer in Clarke 2001: 56).

See ibid.: number 22, for a related gong from the Gussman Collection.