H x W x D: 20.9 x 14.4 x 11.8 cm (8 1/4 x 5 11/16 x 4 5/8 in.)
Type:
Mask
Geography:
Cross River region, Nigeria
Date:
Mid-late 20th century
Label Text:
The Ogoni are perhaps the oldest settlers of the Eastern Niger Delta, living south of the Igbo, west of the Ibibio, and just inland from the Andoni peoples of the Atlantic coast. Because they encountered the British at a relatively late date (1901) and received comparatively less Westernized education than their neighbors, the Ogoni have maintained more of their precolonial culture and their arts exhibit less iconoclasm than that experienced by other groups. Though sculpture varies regionally, the majority fall into one of several categories: small face masks of men and women with articulated jaws and narrow teeth, usually made of cane; larger and more grotesque masks representing unruly spirits, some of which have articulated jaws; small masks depicting animals, such as antelope, goats, deer and monkeys; larger masks depicting fierce animals, such as crocodiles, leopards and pigs; human figures worn on top of the head representing ancestors or title holders; headdresses representing marine figures and worn on top of the head horizontally; carved figures of title holders, ancestors or Mami Wata; or puppets with articulated limbs and jaws. This mask falls into the first category, and was probably known, like other masks of this type, as elu, which means "spirit." It is relatively small and probably would have only covered half of the face, with a simple mechanism to allow the wearer to move the jaw for use in masquerades or plays. Because of its light pigmentation and Westernized cap, it may represent a foreigner or a European, though this is relatively rare amongst the Ogoni.
Historically, masks were worn in ritual performances for funerals and when yams were planted and harvested. More recently they appear at Christmas and New Year celebrations and to welcome important visitors.
Description:
Face mask with movable jaw and European hat superstructure. The face is pigmented white with black hair, lips, eyebrows and accents.
Provenance:
Gilbert Jackson, -- to 1981
Exhibition History:
African Art in Color, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., May 17-October 9, 1983, no. 48
The Stranger Among Us, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., March 24-September 7, 1982
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