Chokwe or Luena, Angola, Zambia: A mask of the ‘Mwana pwo’ type, or ‘beautiful girl’.
Chokwe or Luena, Angola, Zambia: A mask of the ‘Mwana pwo’ type, or ‘beautiful girl’.
Both the Chokwe (in Angola, Zambia, South Congo) and the Luena tribes (in Zambia) are familiar with the mask type known as ‘beautiful girl’ (‘Mwana pwo’). It designates a girl who comes from the afterlife to visit the living. The mask is worn by dancers with tight costumes and on high stilts.
The present mask was manufactured either by the Chokwe – although not in the tribe’s heartland (Angola), but in a peripheral region (South Congo, Zambia) – or by the Luena. This is because it does not display the typical tribal mark of the Chokwe people, the so-called ‘Cingelyengelye’ (a kind of ‘Maltese cross’), on its forehead. The mask is carved from very hard wood and its face is dyed red by means of powdered redwood. It features a wavy hairstyle carved out from the same piece, small protruding ears, slit eyes and scarification marks on the forehead and nose as well as on both cheeks.
Overall a perfect, beautiful piece, with good usage patina and only minor age damage on the back rim. First half of the 20th century; H: 26 cm. (ME)
Provenance: Belgian Private Collection.
Expert: Prof. Erwin Melchardt
Prof. Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
26.05.2015 - 15:00
- Odhadní cena:
-
EUR 9.000,- do EUR 10.000,-
Chokwe or Luena, Angola, Zambia: A mask of the ‘Mwana pwo’ type, or ‘beautiful girl’.
Both the Chokwe (in Angola, Zambia, South Congo) and the Luena tribes (in Zambia) are familiar with the mask type known as ‘beautiful girl’ (‘Mwana pwo’). It designates a girl who comes from the afterlife to visit the living. The mask is worn by dancers with tight costumes and on high stilts.
The present mask was manufactured either by the Chokwe – although not in the tribe’s heartland (Angola), but in a peripheral region (South Congo, Zambia) – or by the Luena. This is because it does not display the typical tribal mark of the Chokwe people, the so-called ‘Cingelyengelye’ (a kind of ‘Maltese cross’), on its forehead. The mask is carved from very hard wood and its face is dyed red by means of powdered redwood. It features a wavy hairstyle carved out from the same piece, small protruding ears, slit eyes and scarification marks on the forehead and nose as well as on both cheeks.
Overall a perfect, beautiful piece, with good usage patina and only minor age damage on the back rim. First half of the 20th century; H: 26 cm. (ME)
Provenance: Belgian Private Collection.
Expert: Prof. Erwin Melchardt
Prof. Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
|
Horká linka kupujících
Po-Pá: 10.00 - 17.00
kundendienst@dorotheum.at +43 1 515 60 200 |
| Aukce: | Mimoevropské a domorodé umění |
| Typ aukce: | Salónní aukce |
| Datum: | 26.05.2015 - 15:00 |
| Místo konání aukce: | Wien | Palais Dorotheum |
| Prohlídka: | 20.05. - 26.05.2015 |