H x W x D: 39.1 x 21.3 x 23.5 cm (15 3/8 x 8 3/8 x 9 1/4 in.)
Type:
Mask
Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Angola
Date:
Early 20th century
Label Text:
This mask represents a beautiful young woman adorned with tattoos, earrings and an elaborate coiffure. The original Chokwe name (pwo) referred to an adult woman who had given birth. The more recent name, mwana pwo, probably adopted under European influence, emphasizes youthful, feminine beauty.
The artist carved this mask with very delicate, even, thin walls from the wood Alstonia (probably congensis). The surface is a rich, reddish brown color, probably obtained from a mixture of red clay and oil, and has a beautiful patina, a sign of long use. The half-closed eyes placed in large, concave sockets are covered with white clay (kaolin). The eyes, slender nose, elliptical mouth and hemispherical ears are delicately carved on a face delineated by a softly modeled forehead and concave chin.
The major components of the fiber coiffure are a braided headband and a heavy fringe at the rear. Chokwe women typically wore a hairstyle entirely coated with red earth and known as tota.
The artist carved several different representations of tattoos on the mask. On the left cheek and forehead are the triangles of the tattoo known as cingelyengelye. Originally, cingelyengelye occurred as a necklace in the form of a cross, cut from tin plate and worn by the Chokwe as an amulet. During the 17th century, Capuchin monks from the Order of Christ of Portugal had distributed medals in the form of a cross throughout Chokwe country, and this cross was probably the prototype for cingelyengelye. On the right cheek of the mask is the tattoo known as cijingo, in combination with a cross. Cijingo denotes a spiral brass bracelet. On the forehead and extending to the temples is the tattoo known as mitelumuna, or "knitted eyebrows," an allusion to discontentedness or arrogance. Under the eyes are tattoos known as masoji, signifying tears.
Pwo or mwana pwo is one the most popular dancing masks among the Chokwe. Because they follow matrilineal descent, the Chokwe dance pwo to honor the founding female ancestor of the lineage. A male dancer is dressed like a woman in a costume of braided fiber that completely covers his body and hides his identity. He wears a loincloth, carries a fan and moves in slow, precise steps to emulate a woman. When the mask becomes unusable, it is discarded. When a masquerader dies, the mask is buried with the dancer.
Description:
Dark brown oval shaped female face mask with a broad forehead. The eyes are horizontal slits placed within large eye sockets coated with white pigment, the nose is long with pierced nostrils and the mouth is long and cut horizontally to form the lips. The back of the head is covered with a knotted, corded fiber coiffure.
Provenance:
Private collection, Brussels
Galerie Dierickx, Brussels, 1969
Emile M. Deletaille, Brussels, 1969 to 1985
Exhibition History:
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed March 13, 2018–July 8, 2019)
Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September 19, 2011-January 29, 2012
General exhibition, May 15, 2009-July 6, 2011
Treasures, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 17, 2004-August 15, 2005
Chokwe! Art and Initiation Among Chokwe and Related Peoples, Birmingham Museum of Art, November 1, 1998-January 3, 1999; Baltimore Museum of Art, June 13-September 5, 1999; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, October 24, 1999-January 16, 2000
Masques du Monde, Société Génerale de Banque, Brussels, June 28-July 31, 1974
Kunst aus Schwarz Afrika, Kunsthaus Zürich, 1970-1971
Freyer, Bryna M. and Christine Mullen Kreamer. 2010. "The Collection of the National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution." Sculpture Review LIX (1), p. 22.
Images of Power and Identity: Selections from the Permanent Collection. 1999 (?). Exhibition brochure. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Jordan, Manuel (ed). 1998. Chokwe!: Art and Initiation Among the Chokwe and Related Peoples. Munich: Prestel Verlag, no. 59 and cover.
Kreamer, Christine, Mary Nooter Roberts, Elizabeth Harney and Allyson Purpura. 2007. Inscribing Meaning: Writing and Graphic Systems in African Art. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution; Milan: 5 Continents Editions, pp. 32-33, no. 2.4.
Kreamer, Christine Mullen and Adrienne L. Childs (eds). 2014. Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and Camille O. and William H. Cosby, Jr. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, pp. 16, 18, no. 19.
LaGamma, Alisa. 2011. Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures. New Haven: Yale Press, pp. 118-119, no. 197.
LaGamma, Alisa. 2011. "Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures." Tribal Arts 61, pp. 86-87, no. 14.
Leuzinger, Elsy. 1972. The Art of Black Africa. London: Studio Vista, no. U1.
National Museum of African Art. 1988. The Permanent Collection of the National Museum of African Art, Large-Type Edition. Museum brochure. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.
National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 125, no. 86.
Patton, Sharon F. 2004. Treasures: Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. Folio.
Petridis, Constantine. 2013. Fragments of the Invisible: The René and Odette Delenne Collection of Congo Sculpture. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art; Milan: 5 Continents Editions, p. 21, no. 13.
Phaidon (eds). 2007. 30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space. London, New York: Phaidon Press, p. 885.
Sabena Revue. 1974. no. 1, color pl. 79.
Société Génerale de Banque. 1974. Masques du monde. Bruxelles: Société Génerale de Banque, no. 79.
Stepan, Peter. 2005. Spirits Speak: A Celebration of African Masks. Munich: Prestel, p. 176, no. 97.
Wastiau, Boris. 2006. Visions of Africa: Chokwe. Milan: 5 Continents Editions, front cover, p. 48, no. 59.
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