mask, wood, handcarved; representing female head; stylized facial features in yellow pigment; black hair and headdress in low relief; H 26.3 cm x W (nose to back of head) ca 31.0 cm.
Donor:
Berta Bascom
Collection place:
Meko, Nigeria
Verbatim coll. place:
West Africa, S. W. Nigeria, Meko, Yoruba; Carved by Duga
Culture or time period:
Yoruba
Maker or artist:
Duga of Meko
Collector:
Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
Collection date:
1950
Materials:
Pigment and Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Masks (costume)
Function:
5.2 Magic: Objects Associated with Practices reflecting confidence in the ability to manipulate supernatural agencies
Context of use:
mask representing a woman, used in the Gelede cult, whose dances were performed for the purpose of propitiating witches. Gelede cult masks appeared in pairs.
Department:
Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
Dimensions:
width 31 centimeters and height 26.3 centimeters
Comment:
Illustrated: Bascom, African Arts, 1967: #91. Palo Alto TImes, 3 April 1967, pg. 23 KPFA Folio, Vol. 18:1, April 1967, pg. 16 metrOakland, April, 1967, pg. 9Slide.B/W photos (3) stored with Bascom Collection Index Card File. NOTE: OBJECT IN 20A, MEZ, 131C HAS THIS CATALOGUE NUMBER (5-15489) AND BASCOM NUMBER (2010) AFFIXED TO IS AS WELL; PAHMA Storage Loc: W-12-1
Loans:
S1983-1984 #43: Sonoma State University (February 28, 1984–April 24, 1984) and S1984-1985 #23: Sonoma State University (November 28, 1984–April 22, 1985)