Chokwe Wood Mask, Angola, Based

Narrow eyes, a crossed mark on the brow, and a braid of fiber to finish it.

This mask, mounted on a base, is Chokwe, from Angola, Central Africa, mid 20th century, in wood and fiber. Chokwe masks of this kind are generally understood as honoring women and ideal female beauty, and are danced by men in performances that celebrate the ancestors. A glossy dark face tapers to a small chin. The forehead carries an incised cross-shaped motif, and fine marks sit on the cheeks and chin. Fiber rope follows the crown from ear to ear. Fourteen inches high.

Grace is harder to carve than it looks. This carver managed.