Mask of Bwiti Vuvi African Art of Gabon

Vouvi / Tsogho mask from Gabon. Dating: c. 1950. Dimensions: 39 x 21 cm. Materials: wood provenance: ex private collection, France. Provided with certificate of origin from an independent expert. Stunning mask with a surreal look multiplying the features on the face. His style is coveted by contemporary art lovers and has inspired many famous Western artists. Front reddened with tukula. Traits marked with dark pigment. These are ethnic groups living in the forest. The masks are here responsible for ensuring the link between the ancestral past and the present. It is both image and symbol, a reference identity in the service of education. The mask is also a means of communication with the spirits of the deceased, an intermediary between the earth and the afterlife. It cannot be separated from its environment when it comes out at night to the sound of the drum, to the light of torches.

Ref. : AEHKAHKA