Mask, Punu; Gabon
Wood, pigment, fiber; H. 12 1/4"
The distinctive "white-face"
masks of southeastern Gabon with white-colored face,
arching eyebrows, and rising three-part coiffure
may derive from the various ethnic groups who live
along the Ngounie River, a tributary of the Ogowe,
and thus are designated according to geographical
rather than ethnic origin. They were worn by costumed
stilt dancers said to represent the spirit of a
beautiful woman who returned to participate in funerals.
The vast majority of these masks bear either raised
scarification on both temples and in the central
area of the forehead or, additionally, in the case
of those attributed to the Tsangui, lines running
from the nose to the ears. This particular example
shows no evidence of any scarification patterns
whatsoever, which may be an indicator of the ethnic
group that made it. Conversely, the lack of scarification
may indicate a different function or be of iconographic
importance.
