Mask – Terracotta, Textile – Mwana Pwo – Chokwe – DR Congo

A fine terracotta Mwana Pwo mask from the Tschokwe tribe, DR Congo.
The Chokwe are well known for art objects produced to celebrate and validate the royal court.

Expressive dance mask that represents the ideal type of woman Mwana PWO.
Artful coiffure of fibres, coloured with Tukula powder.

Mwana Pwo mask with beautiful brownish patina.
The scarification marks, which may duplicate those of the actual woman whose beauty inspired the carver, include the cingelyengelye design on the forehead. This cruciform design was probably derived from tin pendants traded into the Chokwe region by Portuguese voyagers as early as the seventeenth century.

Material: terracotta with textile on top with cauri shells.
Condition: Fine aged condition, signs of age and use.

Provenance: Manfred Schäfer collection, ex- gallery owner from Ulm, Germany.