Masker - hard hout - Okuyi - Punu (ou Bapounou) - Gabon

Traditional face mask of the Punu.

Approx. size 33 x 19 x 15 cm
760 g
Material: wood
Colour: brown, light brown, white, hand-painted.
Condition: signs of wear and tear, cracks from age, natural patina

This Punu mask has a very expressive feminine face with the typical narrow eyes and raised eyebrows reminiscent of Asian masks.
The mask type is known as Okuyi. This mask portrays a female dead spirit mask, a beautiful girl, who comes from the afterlife.
The face is brown and painted white with kaolin. The forehead is decorated with a scarification tattoo. Two braids and a pinned-up mop of hair are coloured a dark brown, the ears and mouth are a dark red. The high hairstyle is very finely finished. It symbolises wealth because a woman with a high hairstyle cannot carry baskets.

This old mask has age-related signs of wear and tear, the colour is chipped, and it has a naturally formed patina.
Chipped nose (see photos).

The mask comes from the private collection of the ornithologist K. Kußmaul, Karlsruhe, and was acquired by him on his trips to Africa.

Shipped as a parcel with track & trace.