Mask "okuyi" ·  Gabon, Punu/Lumbo · ID: 3041029

Description

bright wood, kaolin, dark brown and red paint, with regular pleasing facial features, diadem-like coiffure, mouth with red lips, slightly dam., abrasion of paint, base;
the white-faced masks of the “okuyi” (also known as “mukudj” or “mukuyi”) were used by the Punu and Lumbo peoples. The Punu tradition tells us that masks covered with white earth “pemba” and with carefully elaborate coiffures most often represent feminine entities of the world of spirits of the death. According to some Punu informers, masks without scarified faces could be masculine beings, in spite of the delicacy of their traits.

The object Mask “okuyi” with the object ID 3041029 was last part of the auction 84th Tribal Art Auction at November 5, 2016 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 357 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,600.

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Comparing literature

Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 276