Kwele Mask 3

Kwele(Bakwele) Gabon. Wood. Pigments.
Height 19"

Striking and highly stylized antelope mask with a zoomorphic superstructure. . The creamy whiteness of the facial plane adds depth to the eyes, exaggeratedly slanted and delineated with black pigmentation. The nose running from the top of the face to the bottom, towards the mouth, adds a most stylistic stance to the mask. And which deity do the ears belong to - the cephalomorphic or the zoomorphic?

Perhaps part of a group of Etuk forest spirits, used for protection and funeral rites.