Face Mask (Pwo)
- Culture
- Chokwe artist
- Date
- late 19th century
- Material
- Wood, plant fiber, pigment, metal
- Classification
- Costume & clothing, masks
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 16 × 7 1/4 × 9 1/4 in. (40.6 × 18.4 × 23.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Cecille Pulitzer
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 179:2022
Provenance
reportedly before 1894
Romão Collection, Lisbon, Portugal; Carlos Romão, Lisbon, Portugal, by descent [1]
1978 -
Patrick Dierickx (Galerie Dierickx), Brussels, Belgium [2]
1994/06/29 - 2019
Private collection, USA, purchased at auction, “Important Tribal Art,” Christie’s, London, June 29, 1994, lot no. 153, through agents Lance and Roberta Entwistle (Entwistle Gallery); private collection, by descent [3]
2019
Heinrich Schweizer (Schweizer Premodern), New York, NY, acquired from private collection [4]
2019 - 2022
Julie Cecille (Ceil) Pulitzer, St. Louis, MO and Santa Barbara, CA, acquired from Heinrich Schweizer [5]
2022 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Cecille Pulitzer [6]
Notes:
[1] The African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre (AHDRC) identified the mask was “collected before 1894 by a Portuguese military officer Romão, Lisbon, Portugal; Carlos Romão, Lisbon, Portugal; Patrick Dierickx, Brussels, Belgium, 1978.” In an email to Amy Clark on October 25, 2022, Guy van Rijn (of AHDRC) verified the information but was unable to provide the source. Mr. van Rijn believed he received the information from Marie-Louise Bastin (1918-2000), a noted Chokwe art historian [AHDRC record and email in SLAM document files].
[2] See Note 1. In an email to Amy Clark on October 21, 2022, Lance Entwistle confirmed the purchase of the mask at the June 29, 1994 auction. He explained “they [he and his wife Roberta Entwistle] acted as buyers for a private US collection...the Chokwe mask came from the collection of Patrick Dierickx. We know that Mr. Dierickx was active in acquiring works from Portuguese collections in the 1970s” [SLAM document files].
[3] See Note 2. In an email to Amy Clark on October 21, 2022, Victoire de Vaugelas of Schweizer Premodern provided a factsheet stating the mask was in an “important private collection, acquired in 1994; by descent from the above [important private collection], 2006; Heinrich Schweizer, New York, acquired from the above [descendants of important private collection] in 2019; Ceil Pulitzer, Santa Barbara, acquired from the above [Schweizer] on October 30, 2019” [SLAM document files].
[4] See Note 3.
[5] See Note 3. During a phone conversation with Amy Clark on November 3, 2022, Susan Kloman, agent for Ceil Pulitzer, confirmed Ceil Pulitzer purchased the mask from Heinrich Schweizer on October 30, 2019 [SLAM document files].
[6] Deed of Gift signed October 21, 2022 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 28, 2022.
Romão Collection, Lisbon, Portugal; Carlos Romão, Lisbon, Portugal, by descent [1]
1978 -
Patrick Dierickx (Galerie Dierickx), Brussels, Belgium [2]
1994/06/29 - 2019
Private collection, USA, purchased at auction, “Important Tribal Art,” Christie’s, London, June 29, 1994, lot no. 153, through agents Lance and Roberta Entwistle (Entwistle Gallery); private collection, by descent [3]
2019
Heinrich Schweizer (Schweizer Premodern), New York, NY, acquired from private collection [4]
2019 - 2022
Julie Cecille (Ceil) Pulitzer, St. Louis, MO and Santa Barbara, CA, acquired from Heinrich Schweizer [5]
2022 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Cecille Pulitzer [6]
Notes:
[1] The African Heritage Documentation and Research Centre (AHDRC) identified the mask was “collected before 1894 by a Portuguese military officer Romão, Lisbon, Portugal; Carlos Romão, Lisbon, Portugal; Patrick Dierickx, Brussels, Belgium, 1978.” In an email to Amy Clark on October 25, 2022, Guy van Rijn (of AHDRC) verified the information but was unable to provide the source. Mr. van Rijn believed he received the information from Marie-Louise Bastin (1918-2000), a noted Chokwe art historian [AHDRC record and email in SLAM document files].
[2] See Note 1. In an email to Amy Clark on October 21, 2022, Lance Entwistle confirmed the purchase of the mask at the June 29, 1994 auction. He explained “they [he and his wife Roberta Entwistle] acted as buyers for a private US collection...the Chokwe mask came from the collection of Patrick Dierickx. We know that Mr. Dierickx was active in acquiring works from Portuguese collections in the 1970s” [SLAM document files].
[3] See Note 2. In an email to Amy Clark on October 21, 2022, Victoire de Vaugelas of Schweizer Premodern provided a factsheet stating the mask was in an “important private collection, acquired in 1994; by descent from the above [important private collection], 2006; Heinrich Schweizer, New York, acquired from the above [descendants of important private collection] in 2019; Ceil Pulitzer, Santa Barbara, acquired from the above [Schweizer] on October 30, 2019” [SLAM document files].
[4] See Note 3.
[5] See Note 3. During a phone conversation with Amy Clark on November 3, 2022, Susan Kloman, agent for Ceil Pulitzer, confirmed Ceil Pulitzer purchased the mask from Heinrich Schweizer on October 30, 2019 [SLAM document files].
[6] Deed of Gift signed October 21, 2022 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, November 28, 2022.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.