Text, Mwana pwo mask, cross on the forehead

Mask; wood, plant fibers, clay, metal, glass; 20th century acquired in 19 from Ch.-J. Massar, III C 45043; Masks from Angola often convey notions of female beauty. In contrast to other works in this section, whose artists used materials of value to elevate the status of the objects, here it is the extraordinary skill with which ordinary materials have been used that sets this mask apart. Bode Museum, Ethnologisches Museum