A WOOD AND ROPE FEMALE 'PWO' MASK

A WOOD AND ROPE FEMALE 'PWO' MASK
A WOOD AND ROPE FEMALE 'PWO' MASK
Angola, Tchokwe

32 cm high

Provenance: Vittorio Bellini (1936-2009) collection.

Despite being a female mask, during the rituals the 'pwo' was used by male dancers who wanted to express the virtues of women. The carvings that characterize it reproduce the typical scarification of the adult woman, a distinctive sign of feminine beauty.