H x W x D: 23.3 x 19.0 x 33.8 cm (9 3/16 x 7 1/2 x 13 5/16 in.)
Type:
Mask
Geography:
Ago-Shasha area, Nigeria
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
Gelede is a masquerade to honor and placate the "mothers," incarnate forces of thwarted fertility and spiritual power who are less diplomatically referred to as witches. Although men, appearing in pairs, dance these masks, many gelede masks depict women. Some are satiric or genre characters. Others have elaborate superstructures with figures of devotees, animals, exaggerated head ties (a woman's head covering) or even palm trees. This mask has a woman's head tie, loosely wrapped around a crest hairstyle.
Gelede masks are worn like caps and tilted at a 45-degree angle on the forehead. The sculptor takes this angle into account when carving the mask. Typically gelede masks are polychromed. This mask has lost most of its coloring.
Description:
Wood cap mask with a striped head tie and crest hairstyle, and traces of white and blue pigment still visible.
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