Africa | Gabon
Punu Tsanghi Mask
Gabon
Okuyi mask
Punu Tsanghi
Gabon
Late 19th or early 20th century
Carved wood and pigments
Height: 28 cm – 11 in.
Provenance
Collection Mathias Komor (1909-1984), New York City
Collection Nancy and Myron Mayer, New York City, acquired in 1973
Galerie Alain de Monbrison, Paris
Private collection, Paris
Exhibition
TEFAF Maastricht, 2022 (Galerie Monbrison)
Punu Tsanghi mask 28 cm / Galerie Flak
Price: on request
The white masks of the Punu and neighboring peoples, such as the Tsanghi of southern Gabon, are true icons of classical African art. As early as 1910, a Punu mask hung on the wall of Pablo Picasso's studio in Paris (see William Rubin, Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern, 1984, p. 300).
From the collection of legendary New York art dealer Mathias Komor (1909–1984), this Okuyi ritual mask represents an idealized female face. It possesses all the defining characteristics of classical southern Gabonese masterworks: a refined crested coiffure, delicate facial features, and a perfectly balanced structure. The downcast gaze, framed by thin eyebrows and slit eyes, conveys a deep sense of serenity and profound inner presence.
From the collection of legendary New York art dealer Mathias Komor (1909–1984), this Okuyi ritual mask represents an idealized female face. It possesses all the defining characteristics of classical southern Gabonese masterworks: a refined crested coiffure, delicate facial features, and a perfectly balanced structure. The downcast gaze, framed by thin eyebrows and slit eyes, conveys a deep sense of serenity and profound inner presence.
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