Data Source

National Museum of African Art

Label Text

Egungun masquerades appear at annual festivals, funerals and special local events throughout the year. Generally, they honor the spirits of ancestors--either by portraying them or demonstrating to the ancestors that their descendents are upholding their traditions.

While some masks are made totally of cloth, others--especially character masks--have a sculpted wood crest or face. This crest mask, with prominent facial marks, may depict an ancestor or be an unknown character. Without the complete costume and accompanying music, songs and dance, identification of egungun is difficult.

Description

Wood crest mask in the form of a stylized human head, with a crest hairstyle covered with linear incised decoration and blue pigment. The face and neck have red pigment, semicircular eyes placed against the hairline, rows of horizontal scarification lines and a flared plain wood base pierced with attachment holes.

Provenance

Anonymous donor, acquired Lagos, Nigeria, 1970 to 1996

Exhibition History

Gifts to the National Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1997-January 4, 1998

Maker

Yoruba artist

Date

ca. 1950

Credit Line

Anonymous gift in memory of Sylvia H. Williams

Medium

Wood, pigment

Dimensions

H x W x D: 39.7 x 14.9 x 18.6 cm (15 5/8 x 5 7/8 x 7 5/16 in.)

Type

Mask

See more items in

National Museum of African Art Collection

Object number

96-39-1

Topic

Ancestral

Geography

Nigeria

Object Name

egungun