Punu, Gabon, - Lot 128

Lot 128
Go to lot
Estimation :
500 - 700 EUR
Register for the sale on drouot.com
Punu, Gabon, - Lot 128
Punu, Gabon, Mask, wood, kaolin, pigment H. 30 cm - W. 17 cm (on a base). The Okuyi mask was worn during acrobatic dances by men perched on stilts. The existence of these rituals was first reported in the mid-19th century by the explorer Paul du Chaillu. The mask was powdered with kaolin, a white pigment that traditionally also covered the bodies of women during the ceremony. The slightly curved mouth, the cheekbones, the delicate scarifications on the temples, and the veins of the eyes are highlighted by the red of the padauk wood. The diadem adorning the forehead, composed of nine scales and called a magumbi, is a motif of identity referencing the nine primordial clans of the Punu’s mythical history. According to Louis Perrois, the alternation and combination of symbols—between the scarifications on the temples, a distinctive sign of masculinity, and the feminine diadem—is an expression of ancestral endogeneity.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue