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A Punu-Lumbo mask is a tribal mask native to the Ogooué River basin in Gabon, especially in the south in Ngounié Province. [1] The masks are extremely valuable to collectors of African art, and have been sold at Sotheby's for well over $400,000. [ 2 ]
As African masks are largely appropriated by Europeans, they are widely commercialized and sold in most tourist-oriented markets and shops in Africa (as well as "ethnic" shops in the Western world). As a consequence, the traditional art of mask-making has gradually ceased to be a privileged, status-related practice, and mass production of masks ...
Chiwara masks are categorized in three ways: horizontal, vertical, or abstract. In addition, Chiwara can be either male or female. Female Chiwara masks are denoted by the presence of a baby antelope and straight horns. Male Chiwara masks have bent horns and a phallus. The sex of a Chiwara mask is much clearer on horizontal and vertical masks ...
The Benin ivory mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of Idia, the first Iyoba (Queen Mother) of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of a traditional African mask. [1] The masks were looted by the British from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the Benin Expedition of 1897 .
Masks represent protective spirits that can take animal forms or can appear as strange beings. These spirits watch over a family, clan or community, and, if the rules for their propitiation are followed correctly, provide for the fertility, health, and prosperity of the owners. Thus the masks provide for the continuity of life in the gurunsi world.
Often strips of raffia, which are pieces of fiber from the raffia palm, are attached to the mask. The white color of these masks is associated with things like the spirits of ancestors, death, and male virility or manhood. [2] Most Ngil masks are an oval shape featuring a broad forehead with an elongated chin and nose.
These masks showcase an ideal image of an Igbo maiden. This ideal is made up by the smallness of a young girl’s features and the whiteness of her complexion, which is an indication that the mask is a spirit. This whiteness is created using a chalk substance used for ritually marking the body in both West Africa and the African Diaspora.
In the Chokwe people of Central Africa, the chikunga is a sacred ceremonial mask. Of the many ceremonial masks, the chikunga is considered to be the most powerful, and it is only worn by the tribal chief. The chikunga mask is made by stretching barkcloth over an array of wicker bits. It then is painted black with red and white designs.