FEMALE TSHOKWE MASK, MWANA PWO A CHOKWE MASK ANGOLA Height:... Lot 45

FEMALE TSHOKWE MASK, MWANA PWO A CHOKWE MASK ANGOLA Height: 33.5 cm. (13⅛ in.) US$87,000-130,000 PROVENANCE Acquired in situ by Henrique Quirino da Fonseca (1902-1969) Collection Henrique Quirino da Fonseca, Lausanne, 1936 Passed on by family inheritance, until 2003 Bernard de Grunne, Brussels, 2005 Important European private collection, acquired from the latter EXHIBITION Bruxelles, Le Sablon, BRUNEAF: Brussels Non European Art Fair XV, 8-12 June 2005 BIBLIOGRAPHIE BRUNEAF: Brussels Non European Art Fair XV, Brussels, 2005, p. 47 This mask is a superb example of the female masks mwana pwo. In Tshokwe language, this term means "young woman". It is an idealized portrait of a young woman who died prematurely. The features of the face evoke the deceased whose eyes are cracked with slits. The mwana pwo also symbolizes the pre-eminent position of women in the matrilineal Tshokwe society. However, the female mask is still danced by men. Women wear them in order to teach elegance and good manners. This mask is distinguished by the careful realistic treatment given by the sculptor. The polished ovoid face has ancient deep traces of ritual scarifications that adorned the cheeks and forehead. The almond-shaped eyes are housed in concave orbits and follow their curves. The rounded nasal bridge overhangs an elliptical mouth with curved corners and flat, half-open lips revealing pointed teeth. The vast majority of mwana pwo masks are flat. They are applied directly to the dancer's face, held in place by an elaborate tree-like coife. Here, carved directly from the mass of the wood, the coifure is incorporated into the mask. This exceptional singularity allows the mask to be held on the dancer's head, like a balm-mask. A few rare similar examples are known, two of which are kept at the Museu do Dundo in Angola and also collected b