Beautiful Female Mwana Pwo mask of the Chokwe people living in Angola/Congo. Ex collection of Jacques Chaboto, a wellknown collector in Congo. Now in my private Dutch collection. This mask is always worn by higher-ranking initiates. This type of African mask embodying a female ancestor wearing a thick braided headdress on a basketwork frame. It embodies an ideal of beauty, Mwana Pwo, or the Pwo woman and appears today during festive ceremonies. The pwo are supposed to bring fertility and prosperity to the community. Traditional scarifications on the forehead, cheeks and chin. Material: wood, beads, fibres, metal, bark and twigs. As in all African art, every feature has a particular meaning. For example: the scarifications on the forehead represent Nzambi, the Chokwe supreme being, whilst the scarification on its cheeks symbolise the rising and setting sun.