Vuvi mask, Gabon Wood, pigments, plant fibers Height:... Lot 33

Vuvi mask, Gabon Wood, pigments, plant fibers Height: 24 cm Provenance: Private collection, France Private collection, France The Vuvi masks of the Bantu people, isolated in the mountainous Chaillu massif, have long remained mysterious and little-known. Through the abstraction of their features and the serenity that emanates from them, they resemble the white masks of the Fang and Tsogho peoples, whose cultural universe they share. Characterized, according to Charlotte Grand-Dufay, by "their 'almost flat' face in the shape of a shield, rectangular or oval, and by the facial features concentrated in the upper part [...]. They represent mythical-legendary entities, such as the white mask representing the moon [and belong] to the initiatory societies of Bwete Disumba and Mureli" (Charlotte Grand-Dufay, Tribal Art, 2013. See Les forêts natales - Arts de l'Afrique équatoriale atlantique (2017, p. 324) they appeared at the funerals of important per- sonners, evoking the world beyond, and making the link between departed beings and their descendants. This is a rare example, with a flat, elongated face and thick, flattened facial elements in very slight relief, enhanced with dark brown pigments. The nose is blunt, linked to imposing, arched superciliary arches that span the entire width of the mask. The calmness and serenity of its expressivity are reinforced by the half-closed, slightly incised eyes with hemmed edges. A brown patina varying from dark to orange enlivens the surface. The periphery of the face has retained its rich ornamentation of plant fibers.