Miniature mask of the type mwana pwo. Chokwe, Angola. H 10,3cm. Reddish in colour, with cross-shaped scarification marks on the forehead and disc-shaped, black-painted marks on both cheeks; remnants of whitish pigment around the eyes and in the pierced ears; the open mouth and the simple coiffure framing the face also partially painted black. The mwana pwo mask represents the female ancestor and bestows fertility on the spectators. The dancer who orders the mask from the carver gives him a copper finger ring - a symbol of a mystical betrothal (and later marriage during the dance). In doing so, he enters into moral and ritual obligations, the non-observance of which brings about the punishment and wrath of the ancestors. The pwo mask also fulfills an educational function: the dancers move gracefully in the hips and thus teach the girls to move nobly and elegantly; the masks may also have been used in initiation rites in the past. Intact. Provenance: Acquired from William Boyd, New York (Armory Fair), 1980s.