African Arts Gallery

African mask whose protruding forehead, like a helmet, shelters a flat face notched with rectangular pupils and a mouth. The contours are decorated with colorful patterns carved in arcs of circles. The dancer exhibiting this mask is adorned with attributes supposed to give him the qualities of certain animals, such as the panther, the genet or the monkey. He is equipped with scepters made of monkey hair.
The Pové and Nzambé-Kana masks of the Tsogho differ thanks to their minimal details. Abraded matte patina. Missing.
The Aduma are an ethnic group established in central Gabon, in a mountainous region. The Adouma, “men of the river” or “master piroguiers”, have long lived on the banks of the Ogooué, upstream and downstream of Lastourville between the reaches of Doumé and Bounji. Formerly used for judicial purposes, the mask of great sobriety, called mvoudi, bodi, or even yoyo , is used today during entertainment dances. Mbudi is the male initiation rite. (Louis Perrois) Ref. : "Masks of Gabon", ed. Wakes.