Mask - punu - Punu - Gabon (No reserve price)

Influenced by Kongo culture, the Punu and Lumbu carved African masks coated with white kaolin such as this specimen of the Punu type, crowned by a broad central boss. Female mask; its facial decorations refer to the scarifications in use.
Abrasions, colored highlights.
The white African masks of Gabon, itengi, (plural bitengi) were associated with the various secret societies of Gabon, including Bwiti, Bwete, and Mwiri ("to lead"), the latter spanning several levels of initiation, to which all Punu men belonged. In some villages, at dawn or at dusk, the Okuyi dance was accompanied by songs in an esoteric language that only initiates could understand.