Face mask
Object Details
- Ogoni artist
- Label Text
- Forms of Ogoni face masks range from human with a movable jaw to a horned antelope to this, the rarest kind of all: a blend of human and horned creature. Men and boys dance in these masks and add vigorous acrobatic movements. 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
- Wood face mask with a flange around the lower portion of the face, circular eyes with a low rim, an open diamond shaped mouth with projecting lips, two faceted horns curving foreward from forehead, two horns curving from the back, flaring gong like projection from the top of the head, traces of yellow pigment on face and horns and dark dots on the cheeks and superstructure. There is a restoration on the flange under the chin.
- Provenance
- Private collection, United States, -- to 2004
- Exhibition History
- Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
- African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (deinstalled January 31, 2019)
- African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2010-November 13, 2013
- Published References
- National Museum of African Art. 2010. African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting. Exhibition card. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, no. 5 (detail).
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- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- 20th century
- Object number
- 2004-1-1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Mask
- Medium
- Wood, pigment
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 31.7 x 17 x 14.4 cm (12 1/2 x 6 11/16 x 5 11/16 in.)
- Geography
- Nigeria
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_2004-1-1
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Usage conditions apply
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7d72c7a2b-f3ee-4bd8-937a-cf197ed08c3e
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