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Exhibition Guide

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Female Ancestor Mask (Mwana wa Pwevo)

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The BMA’s Lwena Mwana wa Pwevo dancing. Photographic postcard, c. 1925.

Art Object Info

As boys become men, their mothers may see in them a trace of their own fathers and grandfathers. During the initiation of young Lwena men, masks that represent the spirit of past generations provide entertainment and spread the news of the celebration. This smooth, fine-featured mask bears old-fashioned facial markings that create a nostalgic image of motherhood. Performing to honor and amuse female relatives, neighbors, and friends of the young initiates, a male dancer would borrow clothing from an initiate’s mother to unite the mask’s classic beauty with current fashion. The mask’s calm face and neatly braided hair connote the orderliness of respectable women, while the dancer’s movements would mime daily chores or demonstrate women’s strength through fast-paced and complex choreography.

 

Medium:
Wood, plant fiber, glass beads
Size:
H: 9.1'
W: 9.1'
D: 8.7'
Date:
Before 1925
Gift of Alan Wurtzburger, By Exchange, Through the Cooperation of Murray and Barbara Frum, Toronto BMA 1982.1

Art Object Info

As boys become men, their mothers may see in them a trace of their own fathers and grandfathers. During the initiation of young Lwena men, masks that represent the spirit of past generations provide entertainment and spread the news of the celebration. This smooth, fine-featured mask bears old-fashioned facial markings that create a nostalgic image of motherhood. Performing to honor and amuse female relatives, neighbors, and friends of the young initiates, a male dancer would borrow clothing from an initiate’s mother to unite the mask’s classic beauty with current fashion. The mask’s calm face and neatly braided hair connote the orderliness of respectable women, while the dancer’s movements would mime daily chores or demonstrate women’s strength through fast-paced and complex choreography.

 

Medium:
Wood, plant fiber, glass beads
Size:
L: 8.7'
W: 9.1'
H: 9.1'
Date:
Before 1925
Gift of Alan Wurtzburger, By Exchange, Through the Cooperation of Murray and Barbara Frum, Toronto BMA 1982.1