Face mask of a young maiden "mwana pwo" ·  Angola, Chokwe · ID: 3034942

Description

wood, dark- and reddish brown patina, delicate nose with middle groove, raised ornamental scarifications, elaborate knotted bonnet of plant fibre with fringes, slightly dam. (ears, eyes), metal base;
K.-F. Schädler reports, that present mask already was in Europe before the 1930’s.
“Pwo”, literal meaning “woman” represents a primordial female ancestor. The mask type performs social dances to highlight the beauty, morality, and abilities (natural and supernatural) associated with women. The mask appears on different ceremonial occasions, with the “mukanda"male initiation as its primary venue. It is exclusively danced by men. Women will commonly dance alongside the character, to challenge the performer’s skill and to make sure that the steps and movements or actions honor them appropriately and sufficiently.

The object Face mask of a young maiden “mwana pwo” with the object ID 3034942 was last part of the auction 73rd tribal art auction at May 25, 2013 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 437 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,800.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on African art.