Igbo Mask
Nigeria
A mask constructed along a vertical axis, the form contained within a helmet-like ovoid volume and organised through two horizontal registers.
Description
Carved from a single wood block, a projecting horizontal brow band divides the face into upper and lower fields. Narrow slit eyes are set within the lower field. The helmet surface is organised through concentric circular motifs, crosshatched panels, and linear incisions forming a continuous patterned field. Along the crown, a raised serrated crest extends over a register of carved lobed forms, while curved lateral flanges continue downward along either side of the helmet.
Surface is compact and stable, with pigment retained within recessed zones and exposure at raised elements.
Context
Among the Igbo, masks of this type are worn within masquerade structures associated with community and ancestral ceremony.
Provenance
From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Nigeria, 1985.
Details
- Title
- Igbo Mask
- Culture
- Igbo
- Origin
- Nigeria
- Date
- 20th century
- Dimensions
- H 48 cm (18.9 in) · W 30 cm (11.8 in) · D 23 cm (9.1 in)
- Medium
- Wood, pigment
- Provenance
- From the Felice Maffei Collection, acquired in Nigeria, 1985.
- Condition
- Stable surface; pigment retained in recesses; exposure at raised elements.
