Ancestral white Punu-Lumbo mask and a relatively rare black Punu mask, Punu people, Gabon, 19th to early 20th century

Ancestral white Punu-Lumbo mask and a relatively rare black Punu mask, Punu people, Gabon, 19th to early 20th century.

“The so-called black Punu masks are rare, with masks of this exceptional quality limited to less than a dozen.

[…]

said to be modeled after beautiful women in the community. According to Perrois, the black patina on Punu masks is presumably an index of its more serious or darker role in judiciary services, potentially condemning the living, whereas Punu masks layered in kaolin are used in celebrations and funerary ceremonies, where the white surface marked them as ushers of the other world.” Sotheby’s catalogue note 

Other sources refer to the white masks as female Mukudj, or Mukuyi/Mukui/mokuyi masks, shown during the day, while referring to the black masks as male Ikwar masks, shown at night.