OBJECT history FIG. 14 (above): Side view of the Tervuren mask in fig. 1 showing the reattached bird. Photo: J. Van de Vyver, © Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale. The final reattachment of the bird at the back of the mask is the result of scientific collaboration involving A.-M. Bouttiaux (MRAC), G. Dewispelaere (ENSAV-La Cambre), and M. Ghysels (Scantix). Funding for this restoration was provided by the InBev-Baillet Latour Fund. FIGS. 15A and B (right): Helmet mask, chikwanga. Luntu, DR Congo. Wood, pigment. H: 38 cm. Private collection, Belgium. 130 over, ethnographic research lends support to this interpretation. The work of C. Petridis (2005) indicates that certain helmet masks from the Luntu area exist that have humanized horned features—the chikwanga (figs. 15a and b) to name one—which definitely have an iconic relationship with the ram.5 As such, it is easy to understand why this animal became a serious contender where the analysis of the Tervuren mask is concerned. But strong arguments exist to support the second animal’s iconographic candidature, although at first glance they seem perhaps less likely to be viable. The manner in which the horns are implanted, characterized by their massive base (fig. 13), is strongly reminiscent of the buffalo. It could be argued that this does not definitively refute the “ram hypothesis” because of the exaggerated curvature of the horns, which go from back to front rather than out to the sides. However, this curvature could still be consistent with the “buffalo hypothesis” if one recognizes that naturalistic representation might not have been intended and that artistic license and aesthetic or other considerations might have been in play. If one compares the Tervuren mask with a Tabwa buffalo mask (fig. 17), it is immediately apparent that there is an important difference in the volume of the material used to make them. It bears remembering that the Tervuren mask is of helmet type, while the Tabwa mask is merely facial. The sculpting of a helmet mask from a single piece of wood requires a fairly substantial tree trunk. If one had to add outwardly extending horns to the sculpture in order to make the representation naturalistic in that respect, it is unlikely that a mugongo tree (Ricinodendron rautanenii) with a trunk wide enough could be found—not to mention the fact that the risk of cracking increases as the mass of the sculpted wood gets larger. Moreover, unlike its Tabwa cousin, Tervuren’s helmet mask does not represent a buffalo, properly speaking, but clearly draws inspiration from “naturalistische permutation,” that is, a clever combination of human and animal elements. From an aesthetic point of view, choosing to represent the horns realistically might alter the object’s FIG. 16: Drawing of a Tlinglit club in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, inv. E/242. © Tribal Art magazine.
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