Large Central African Woyo Ndunga Wood Painted Mask, ex-Gerald Danenberg

Central Africa, Angola / Democratic Republic of the Congo, Woyo (Ngoyo) people. A large carved wood ndunga mask made by the Woyo, a Kongo-related people of the lower Congo River and Atlantic coast. The elongated oval face has a high domed forehead that ends in a heavy brow ridge above narrow crescent-shaped eye openings. A long straight nose with flared nostrils descends to an open mouth. The surface is painted dark brown and covered overall with evenly spaced red dots, with a pale wood visible beneath the brown in places. The reverse is deeply hollowed, and the wood is light in weight for the size of the mask. Ndunga masks were used by an all-male secret society involved in religious and political aspects of society. Item # 202945

Estimate:$1,200

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