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Mask (mukudj)
Not on view
Among the Punu of southern Gabon, the visual focal point of a dance known as mukudj is a mask whose features are inspired by the most beautiful woman in a community. These marks are transformed into otherworldly spirits when empowered with white kaolin drawn from riverbeds associated with the ancestral realm, and are activated during spectacular acrobatic performances executed on stilts.
From the time of its acquisition by John Quinn from Robert Coady in 1917, this mask has experienced several changes, attested in part by this photograph taken by Charles Sheeler in 1919. The most obvious is the partial removal of the kaolin that once covered its surface.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
