Mask - Angola (No reserve price)

Mwana Pwo - Chokwe
Traditional African art in Angola
The Chokwe (Tchokwe) live in a vast area in the northeast of Angola, southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They have migrated more recently to Zambia. Their origins go back to a group that had split from the Lunda empire in the 17th century, and to the mythical ancestor and cultural hero Tchibinda Ilunga who would have introduced them to a number of hunting techniques, rituals and courtly codes of conduct. Wooden and fibre masks were worn during the initiation ceremony for the young boys mukanda, including the well-known mask mwana pwo (beautiful woman), worn during dances made of discreet and elegant movements to teach the grace of propriety to the women present. The sculptor chose as his source of inspiration a beautiful young woman from the village, reproducing the drawing of her tattoos and the arrangement of her hair. The male mask