Female ancestor spirit mask "pwo" ·  Angola, Chokwe · ID: 3046783

Description

wood, pigments, base

Female ancestral spirit masks of the Chokwe represent the ideal woman. They are either conceived as mature, adult woman, called “pwo”, or as a younger female, called “mwana pwo”.

They perform at the “mukanda” initiation of young boys, together with their male counterpart, the “cihongo” mask. Their dances characterise the important social role of women in Chokwe society and are intended to teach the young girls the code of conduct of a Chokwe woman.

The object Female ancestor spirit mask “pwo” with the object ID 3046783 was last part of the auction 101st Auction at November 11, 2023 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 343 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,800.

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