Exchange: W20 Gibelyou - ALA 301

W20 Gibelyou - ALA 301 - Tours of the Past

A naturalistic rendering of a human face. Eyes carved in relief are convex and almond-shaped with narrow slits and are placed in round, concave eye sockets. Nose is slender at the bridge and rounded at the tip. The horizontal mouth is partially opened. Half rounded ears display metal loops, one includes a tag with the number 039641-HAV(?). The "hair" is attached with a cloth headband, covered in snakeskin, placed high on the forehead and is made from clay and red tukula powder. The face shows striated, scarifcation patters underneath and to the sides of the eyes; the forehead shows is a chingelyengelye cross motif. The patina is smooth and redish brown in color.

Chokwe
Pwo Mask
wood, tukula powder, clay, string, metal, fur, snakeskin, cloth
11 7/8 in x 11 1/4 in x 6 11/16 in (30.1 cm x 28.6 cm x 17 cm)
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern

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Oval-shaped face mask with slit eye-openings, a mouth with articulated teeth, and scarification on the forehead.

Chokwe
Pwo mask
wood and tukula powder
7 ¼ in x 5 ¼ in x 2 ¾ in (18.41 cm x 13.34 cm x 6.99 cm)
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen in memory of Nancy Turner Bohlen

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Wood-carved, standing male figure 40 inches in height. Its shoulders and torso are impaled with iron blades, nails and fragments. The torso is long, arms at side are bent at elbow and hands rest on lower abdomen. The right wrist wears a bracelet with attachments. The legs are truncated, with twisted metal anklet on right foot. The face is naturalistic, the mouth slightly open, the nose long and narrow with slightly flared nostrils. Eyes are almond shaped, may have had inlay that is now gone. The top of the head shows a tiered, "layer cake like" coiffure. The figure has a long and deep crack down the entire length of its left side, from top of the head to the left ankle.

Vili (Kongo)
Power Figure
wood, iron nails, blades and fragments, and fiber cord
40 3/4 in x 13 3/4 in x 10 1/16 in (103.5 cm x 35 cm x 25.5 cm);40 3/4 in x 13 3/4 in x 10 1/16 in (103.5 cm x 35 cm x 25.5 cm)
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern

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This small power figure features a naturalistic human face engulfed in layers of multi-media attachments, which create an imposing visual effect. The figure wears a blue turban wrapped around its head that binds bundles of medicinal substances and is crowned with several feathers. It also dons a metal necklace and a small bone dangles from the arm. The lower body is covered in fiber and a skirt of long leather strips. Possessing eyes encrusted with glass, the figure stands on top of a carved wooden turtle and holds the tip of a curved piece of wood in its mouth, the other end of which terminates in its clutched right hand. A large medicine pack, topped with a round mirror, is affixed to the figure's torso, which is thickly coated with resin and red pigment.

Yombe
Power Figure
wood, mirror, glass, hide, fiber, feathers, resin, pigment, cloth, raffia and bone
18 1/2 in x 17 5/16 in x 15 3/4 in (47 cm x 44 cm x 40 cm);18 1/2 in x 17 5/16 in x 15 3/4 in (47 cm x 44 cm x 40 cm)
Gift of Candis and Helmut Stern

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