This is the rating and price for Punu Mask, 1910

Description : Wood, raffia fiber, kaolin pigment Punu peoples, Gabon, early 20th century Oval face with a tapered chin, the head surmounted by a high tri-crested coiffure Fine and varied white kaolin patina on entire surface of mask A serene expression with arched brows above protruding crescent slit eyes, a small nose and small full mouth With original fiber beard and remains of white pigment Finely carved and incised in classical manner Mounted on a wooden stand Dimensions: 45.5 x 16.5 cm Good condition Provenance: Jacqueline Spiegl, San Francisco These distinctive masks from Gabon with the white-colored face, arching eyebrows and three-part crested coiffure may have their origin with various ethnic groups living along the Ngounie River, a tributary of the Ogowe. Masks of this type would be worn by costumed stilt dancers during funerary ceremonies called mukudja and represented the spirit of a beautiful young woman whose whitened face symbolized reincarnation. Since the turn of the century, Punu masks were among the most iconic and desired pieces of African art, fascinating not only collectors and dealers but also contemporary artists, especially in Paris. Matisse drew inspiration from them, as can be seen, for instance, in the mask-like rendering of the face of his wife Amélie in his 1913 Portrait of Madame Matisse and one of Picasso's earliest acquisitions of African art was in fact a Punu mask, as photos from circa 1910 document. Exhibitions: Museum of Anthropology, Ball State University, Indiana, 1988 Governors State University, IL, 2003 Krannert Art Museum, IL, 2003 Belger Art Foundation/University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO, 2004 Tall Grass Art Association, IL, 2005 Literature: Published in Theodore Celenko, African Art in Cultural Context: Selections from the Wally and Brenda Zollman Collection, Ball State University 1988, fig. 18 and Arthur P. Bourgeois and Scott Rodolitz, Remnants of Ritual: Selections from the Gelbard Collection of African Art, New York 2003, p. 30, fig. 67 A sketch of the mask was published in Louis Perrois and Charlotte Grand-Dufay, Punu: Visions of Africa Series, 2008, no. 9 Condition: The mask is in good condition consistent with age and use. In places with abrasions and smaller losses, partly due to insect damage, as well as some fine fissures. The dimensions, including the beard, are 45.5 x 16.5 cm. Shipping costs excl. statutory VAT and plus 2,5% (+VAT) shipping insurance.
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