FEATURE own sense of expressive quality providing a different interpretation 116 to Chokwe stylistic canons and stylization. From the same general region in easternmost Angola, another Lwena mask (fig. 20) is practically identical to one documented by Bastin in the Dundo Museum in Angola (Bastin 1961: 386–387, ill. 264) (fig. 19) and another illustrated by José Redinha (1956: 67, ill. 25). The mask features soft contour lines and a treatment of facial details that stretches the Upper Zambezi style to a form of expressive naturalism. Redinha describes the mask: “An oval face, softly modeled, with straight well-balanced profile. Small, slit eyes; deeply cut tattooing.” He continues, “The shape of the face reveals the presence of naturalistic tendencies especially confirmed by the modeling of the mouth, furnished with sharpened teeth, in the manner current in the Upper Zambezi.” He adds that the scarification marks on the mask are of a type considered elegant among the Lwena centers of aristocratic tendencies and female rulers. There is indeed an association with certain Pwo masks and the representation of female chiefs, in some cases supporting the idea of approximation to portraiture in relation to female beauty and elegance (fig. 11).7 From central to northern Angola and into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pwo results in a myriad of explorations of the Chokwe stylistic canon for masks, influenced by their hamba traditions of stylization with a tendency toward the geometric but including naturalistic elements to emphasize a more “human” element. Some Pwo carvers are masterful in balancing those elements, as in the case of two Pwo examples in private collections illustrated in this essay (figs. 6–7). These masks include the precise treatment of “classic” Chokwe stylized features such as the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth while featuring soft, skin-like contour lines and emphasized chins that give the impression of bone structure underneath the surface. Two outstanding examples of a Chokwe approach to naturalism in Pwo mask carving include a mask from the Musée Royal d’Afrique Centrale in Tervuren, Belgium, and one from a private Belgian collection that are, in my opinion, attributable to the same carver (figs. 21–22). They share particularities such as the applied ears (rather than ones carved as part of the masks) and the embedded metal scarification details, both elements that are rather rare. The specificity of the treatment of the lower eyelids, a fraction of the size of the upper, is also quite distinctive to this carver, as are the curve of the eyebrows in relation to the vertical nose line and the overall treatment of soft contours for facial features. The treatment on the lips (curvilinear in the Tervuren example) varies yet they protrude in the same fashion. Other shifts in carving definition (like depth of the cheeks) I would attribute to variation that is typical to most carvers, some of them working for decades reinterpreting the same facial anatomical features. The two masks fit the documented descriptions of akishi being carved by sculptors who are motivated by the attractiveness of specific women: “…The artist is inspired by the looks of a woman much admired for her beauty.” The carver “observes his model at length, often for several days, long enough for him to be able to memorize her features” (Bastin 1982: 90). Part of what is effective about them as art forms is that although they press into the realm of portraiture, they still conform to the basic elements of Chokwe style. Such elements of artistic inspiration—i.e., actual women—lead to the character Pwo often being identified FIG. 18: Mask reflecting an Upper Zambezi style of carving. Lwena, Democratic Republic of Congo. C. 1930. Wood, bark stem, beads, hide. H: 35.6 cm. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1988.26, gift of Dr. Ralph and Marilyn Spiegl. FACING PAGE FIG. 19 (top): Pwo mask. Lwena, Kakenge chieftainship, Lumbala region, Angola. 19th–early 20th century. From Marie-Louise Bastin, Art decoratif tshokwe. Lisbon: Museu do Dundo, 1961. Collection of the Dundo Museum, Angola. FIG. 20 (bottom): Pwo mask, Lwena, Moxico, Angola. 19th–early 20th century. Wood, fiber, brass, cotton, beads. H: 21.6 cm. Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s.
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