Child pwo - Chokwe - DR Congo (No reserve price)

CHOKWE – Old female mask Pwo / Mwana Pwo – Angola / D. R. Congo – Collection A. Simoens, Saint Idesbald. Collected on site in the early 1950s

Important female Pwo mask (Mwana Pwo) of the Chokwe, carved in wood with a deep reddish-brown patina and preserving significant traces of light pigments, especially around the eyes.

The face, of great expressiveness, displays the classic features of Chokwe statuary: eyes stretched into fine slits, long delicately modeled nose, slightly open mouth with protruding lips revealing carved teeth, as well as an outstanding set of scarifications. The forehead bears notably the cruciform motif cingelyengelye, while the motifs under the eyes belong to the register of masoji, or “tears,” associated with the Chokwe feminine beauty ideal. These elements are also documented on Pwo works housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Museum of African Art.

The back, deeply hollowed, presents a beautiful patina and a sequence of old peripheral perforations intended for the attachment of fiber adornments and the costume. The hairstyle is depicted by an elegant geometric lattice incised directly into the wood.

The Pwo masks, worn and danced by men, embody the feminine ideal and refer to the feminine ancestor in the matrilineal Chokwe society.

Proposed dating: first half of the 20th century.
Dimensions: 24 × 20 × 10 cm.