Punu / Gabon Start Price USD 885.00 Current Price USD 885.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Saturday, July 19, 2008 End Time Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Location Miami, Florida See more about 'Punu / Gabon' Description SquareTrade © AP6.0Check out my other items!   Be sure to add me to your favorites list!   Free shipping within the USA Punu / Okuyi or Mukuyi mask / Gabon and Congo / 15 inches / Wood / Kaolin / Pigment These beautiful Okuyi masks are a favorite collectors items. Their delicate beauty has a strong resemblance to Japanese masks. Their white pigment is associated with beauty, spirituality and death. The ca. 45,000 Punu live in small villages which include several lineages in the Ogowe River Basin in Gabon and Congo. Their leaders inherited their position matrilineally. The Okuyi mask are portraits of the female ancestors. The faces of these masks are almost always covered with white kaoline, black and natural coloring is found occasionally but depending on the area and specific tribe. The black masks may represent either sorcerers or judges. The white, kaolin covered faces of this Okuyi mask consists of rounded features, a high forehead with a diamond shaped form in relief; thick lips, a wide nose, almond shaped eyes, prominent eyebrows and ears with ten quadrangular scarifications in relief, in two rows on each side of the cheeks The black hair is shaped into two lateral volumes, an upper lock and decorated with lineal incisions. The masks appeared at dawn or dusk during funeral rituals, or during the full moon.. The dancers performed on high stilts with acrobatic movements agitating whips. They speak in "spiritual" voices, a high supernatural sound created by speaking through a small calabas. The costume consists of cotton fabric and raffia. The masks are worn by male members of the family of the dead female person. Please note: Older pieces of African artifacts have imperfections due to time and wear. This fact generally does not distract from the value of the pieces. Although we carefully point out repairs and damages, be aware that not all of the smaller ships, and dents can be enumerated. Should you have any questions, please contact us before you decide to purchase an item. You full satisfaction is our highest priority . Dear Customer Please do NOT ask us for DISCOUNTS. This gallery is proud to offer museum grade African artifacts at the most competitive prices. All of our pieces compare favorably with the prices achieved for similar high quality pieces by the major auction houses. We don’t add 20% first, only to take it off later, as it is common practice in the art business. We will not make statements regarding age and/or provenance if we cannot substantiate such a statement. Guarantee: All of our carefully selected artifacts are genuine, authentic, and of exceptional quality. We make statements regarding age, and or provenance only if they can be substantiated. Accordingly we provide spectroscopic testing, performed by a leading international laboratory, to determine the age of selected valuable wooden artifacts. If our pieces should fail to meet with our customers approval, we will readily accept returns. Place a Bid!