Important Igbo mask from a Ex USA diplomate.
H= 32cm, 39 cm on the included metalstand
End XIXth- Early XXth.
A very great variety of masks are found among the Igbo. The masks, of wood or fabric, are employed in a variety of dramas: social satires, sacred rituals (for ancestors and invocation of the gods), initiation, second burials, and public festivals.
Art from Eastern Nigeria seldom entered private collections until later in the twentieth century
Agbogho Mmwo, or "maiden spirit," masks are worn by men at festivals that honor important deities. They represent the Igbo ideal of female beauty: small, balanced features, elaborate hairstyles, and delicate tattoos. The men who dance agbogho mmwo masks wear colorful, tight-fitting fiber costumes, entertaining the crowd with exaggerated versions of women's dances.
- Object
- Mask
- Indigenous object name
- Agbogho Mmwo
- Ethnic group/ culture
- Igbo
- Region/ country
- Eastern Nigeria
- Material
- Wood
- Period
- Early 20th century
- Condition
- Excellent
- Sold with stand
- Yes
- Dimensions
- 32×20×25 cm