Anthropomorphic face mask "okukwè" · Gabon, Galoa · ID: 3047744
sold
EUR 2,300
Provenance
Bert Garrebeek, Beersel, BelgiumAlfons Bermel, Berlin, Germany
Zemanek-Münster, 19 June 2010, Lot 379
Kevin Conru, London, Great Britain
Piet Lepelaar, Leiden, The Netherlands
Size
H: 26 cm
H: 10.2 inch
Description
wood, kaolin, red pigment, base
These masks, reported by Frobenius as early as 1898, are called “okukwe” (“okoukoué”) and were danced at important transition ceremonies, such as funerals of important people, initiation rites or twin births.
Comparing literature
Perrois, Louis, Arts du Gabon, Paris 1979, p. 241, ill. 255
Publications
AHDRC: 0125021