Mask "okuyi" · Gabon, Tsogho · ID: 3040522
Description
wood, kaolin, black and red paint, arching brows, full red lips, raised scarification marks on forehead and temples, hairdo with voluminous central crest and flat lobes on both sides, min. dam., fine cracks, slight traces of abrasion, base;
“okuyi” masks represent female entities from the spirit world, fantastical beings who intervene in the villages on important collective occasions. Masked dancers standing on stilts would confront each other in “jousts”. Each dancer would be assisted by a team, whose purpose is to help him perform his competition with an acrobatic feat. The best dancer in the eyes of public would win the match.
The object Mask “okuyi” with the object ID 3040522 was last part of the auction 83rd Tribal Art Auction at May 28, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 356 achieved a sales price of EUR 3,000.
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.
Comparing literature
Perrois, Louis, Art ancestral du Gabon dans les collections du Musée Barbier-Mueller, Genève o.J., p. 101, ill. 54