The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 16, 2024
Mask (mwana pwo)
c. 1930s
Overall: 21.6 cm (8 1/2 in.)
Gift of Katherine C. White 1978.27
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The costume this mask was worn with would have been made from the same netted fibers attached at its bottom.Description
Emotional well-being and stability are valued in many African cultures and these qualities are mirrored in the Mwana Pwo Face Mask. It embodies ideal cultural standards of feminine beauty (beauty marks, elaborate hairstyle, fertility, and good character) and represents a distinguished female ancestor among Chokwe communities of southwestern Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo. The mask would have been danced by an itinerant male performer wearing a body suit and role-playing as a woman; women do not typically wear masks in most African societies.- 1978Katherine C. White [1929-1980], given to the Cleveland Museum of Art1978-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Nzewi, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Second Careers : Two Tributaries in African Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019 Mentioned: p. 22,29, 31; reproduced: p. 56, pl. 2 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.orgNzewi, Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Second Careers : Two Tributaries in African Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019 Mentioned: p. 22, 29, 31; reproduced: p. 56, pl. 2 ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
- Second Careers: Two Tributaries in African Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 1, 2020-March 14, 2021).Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).CMA 1979: "Year in Review 1978," CMA Bulletin LXVI (Jan., 1979), p. 42, no. 21, repr. p. 41.CMA 1968: "African Tribal Images: The Katherine White Reswick Collection," cat. no. 238, repr.
- {{cite web|title=Mask (mwana pwo)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1930s|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1978.27