Female face mask "okuyi" or "mukudji" · Gabon, Punu · ID: 3049434
German Private Collection
Description
wood, base
Presumably, the present specimen is a classic white mask “okuyi” in which the typical kaolin layer has been lost.
However, there are also morphologically related masks among the Punu, which are painted black and called “ikwara”. While the “okuyi” masks appear during the day and represent a positive aspect, the black masks appear at night and represent a negative and dangerous spiritual background.
They only appear at special night-time gatherings, at rituals for the administration of justice or if the Punu society is threatened by ill-fortune, illness, epidemics, witchcraft or criminality. “Ikwara” masks should divert the evil.
The object Female face mask “okuyi” or “mukudji” with the object ID 3049434 was last part of the auction 99th Auction at November 12, 2022 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 29 achieved a sales price of EUR 1,800.
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.
Publications
AHDRC: 0124572