Punu mask (No reserve price)

MUKUYI MASKS - PUNU / POUNOU - GABON
The Mukuyi masks, commonly called “white masks,” are coated with kaolin which in ancient times was mixed with pulverized human bone powder. This ritual white face-paint, still in use across equatorial Africa, comes into play in all vital circumstances for the community: rites of a social nature (mourning, funerals, illnesses), rites of purification or fertility (birth, adolescence, virginity), rites of reconciliation and justice (to restore the authority of the chief, harmony within families, or to resolve intergenerational conflicts), or finally rites of protection (which more specifically aim to attract the goodwill of ancestors or of spirits).
As a sign of communication with the supernatural world, the white earthy clay is used by both men and women, notably during Bwiti rites. The nine frontal keloid diamonds represent the Punû founding myths, the central point representing the creator spirit.
Height - 38 cm
Width - 26 cm
More details in the photos