The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 21, 2025

Dark brown wood mask with a pointed chin, eyes closed to slits, and mouth open in a triangular shape. Clusters of raised bumps create mirrored boomerang shapes on each cheek and a line on the chin. On the forhead, a black diamond meets with a triangle at each point. Cylindrical pale yellow reed beads tumble like hair on either side of the face. Netted grey fibers extend down from behind the mask.

Mask (mwana pwo)

c. 1930s
Wood, reeds, plant fiber, burlap, natural fiber (possibly cotton), and colorant
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.
  • 1978
    Katherine C. White [1929-1980], given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1978-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Fagg, William, and Cleveland Museum of Art. 1968. African Tribal Images; the Katherine White Reswick Collection. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, no. 238.
    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.org
    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.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=21 May 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1978.27