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Details
LOT 2381
African Wooden Ceremonial Face Mask
CHOKWE TRIBE, LATE 20TH CENTURY A.D.
10 3/8 in. (1.32 kg, 26.2 cm).
A performance mask: a heavy carved wooden mask with natural features, ears to the sides and drilled holes to the eyebrows and chin. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa.
From the collection of the late Professor R M Hicks, OBE.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Footnotes
Itinerant actors wearing these masks travel from village to village, living on gifts received at performances. Most masks are carved of wood. The most popular and best-known entertainment masks are chihongo, spirit of wealth, and pwo, his consort.
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