African Arts Gallery

Luvale mask (N° 21788)

This African mask depicting the face of a young woman wearing a hemispherical headdress was worn at the top of the head during the closing ceremonies of the Mukanda initiation. It was supposed to promote hunting, fertility, and harvests.
Slight losses and drying crack.
Abrasive matte patina, crusty residue.
Of Lunda origin, the Lwena (or even Lovale , or Luvale ) emigrated from Angola to Zaire in the 19th century, pushed back by the Chokwe. Some became slave traders, others, the Lovales, found refuge in Zambia and near the Zambezi in Angola. Their society is matrilineal, exogamous and polygamous. The Lwena have become known for their honey-colored sculptures, embodying figures of deceased ancestors and chiefs, and their masks linked to the initiation rites of the mukanda. This mask is engraved with circular patterns associated with ethnic scarifications. These details differentiate it from Tschokwe productions despite the relative similarity of their masks.