Open daily. Always free.
Mask (Pwo)

Mask (Pwo)

Unknown

Pwo masquerades teach and entertain during mukanda, the initiation of young boys. A male instructor performed pwo, dancing with sensuous grace to depict idealized femininity. Pwo also carried news between the initiation camp and village mothers. The mask on view here is unpainted and pristine, suggesting it was sold before being used.
Artist
Unknown (Angolan, Congolese, or Zambian, Chokwe People)
Title
Mask (Pwo)
Date
mid-20th century
Medium
Wood, raffia, and twine
Dimensions
10 x 9 1/4 x 9 in. Overall
Credit
Gift of Lester Wunderman
Accession No.
62.3.9
Classification
Sculpture
Geography
Angola

Related

Acquired by Lester Wunderman (New York, NY) between January 1957 [1] and May 1962 (when he made contact with UW–Madison staff about the collection) from an as-yet unknown European source; July 1962, given by Lester Wunderman to the University of Wisconsin–Madison; 1967, transferred to UW–Madison’s Elvehjem Art Center (now called the Chazen Museum of Art). [Last researched by Chazen staff 4/28/2023] [1] when he first began collecting African art, according to the preface of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s catalogue "Art of the Dogon: Selections from the Lester Wunderman Collection"

  • Exhibition gallery guide, "Revealing Forms: African Art from the Elvehjem Collection." 2002.
  • Drewal, Henry John. "African Art at the Elvehjem." Bulletin/Biennial Report 2001-2003. Elvehjem Museum of Art (2003): 16-36. pp. 16-36
  • Rarey, Matthew Francis and Henry John Drewal. "Never at Rest: African Art at the University of Wisconsin." African Arts, vol 53, no. 4 (2020): 68-85. fig. 2

  • Revealing Forms: African Art from the Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 4/20/2002–6/16/2002
  • Negro Heritage: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 11/1/1968–6/11/1969

The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.