Anthropomorphic face mask "okuyi"
Gabon, Punu/Tsanghi
sold
EUR 5,500
Provenance
Albert Schweitzer, Lambaréné, Gabon, collected in situ (1925)Emmy Martin, Alsace
Hans Martin (born 1910), son of Emmy Martin
Suzanne Leiberich, née Martin, daughter of Hans Martin
Family estate until today
Size
H: 28 cm
H: 11.0 inch
Description
light wood, white earth “pemba”, traces of red pigment, light brown patina, high vaulted eyebrows, short “snub” nose, protruding lips of prominent form, accentuated by red paint, the face horizontally divided by narrow straps, scarification mark on the forehead, tripartite coiffure, slightly dam., abrasion of paint, minor missing part (left shock of hair).
The style area of the so-called “White masks of the Ogooué” ranges from the area around Lambaréné in the north (Galoa, Enenga, Djumba, Pindji, Iuli/ Lake Zilé) to the Congo in the south (Lumbo, Vili/Kwilu, Punu, Tsanghi), in the east it reaches into the interior to the Tsogho, Sango Ndjabi, Tsanghi, Vuvi and even up to the Wumbu in the Kota territory.
Comparing literature
Schmalenbach, Werner (Hg.), Afrikanische Kunst aus der Sammlung Barbier-Mueller, Genf, München 1988, p. 222 f.Publications
AHDRC: 0146582