Lot 225: A fine Vuvi Face mask

Vuvi or Sango, Gabon; H: 13"

Of classical form, finely carved with remains of black pigment on the hairline, brow, and chin. Remaining red and white pigment throughout.

Comments:
Masks of this particular type have often been attributed to the Vuvi or Pove people in Gabon; however Siroto depicts a very similar mask that he attributes to the Northern Sango (Siroto, 1995). Siroto likens masks of this type to the white faced masks of the Ogowe River area, and suggests a possible analogous function. The arching brows and simple smiling face of this mask are pleasing and well proportioned, while the carver displayed an adept ability in balancing these seemingly simple constituent parts into a truly complex whole.

Provenance:

- Michel Egloff, Neuchatel
- Zollman Collection, IND
- Gelbard collection, NY

Publication History:
Remnants of Ritual: Selections from the Gelbard collection of African Art (2003) Bourgeois & Rodolitz; Pg. 29, Fig. 66

Exhibition History:
Exhibition History: USA: "Remnants of Ritual, Selections from the Gelbard Collection of African Art":
- University Park, IL: Governors State University, February 2003
- Krannert, IL: Krannert Art Museum, 26 August-26 October, 2003
- Kansas City, MO: Belger Art Foundation/UNIVERSITY of Missouri-
Kansas City, 2004
- Park Forest, IL: Tall Grass Art Association, 2005

Price Realized: $4,000

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