Face mask "okoroshi" ·  Nigeria, Igbo · ID: 3050060

Description

wood, pigments,

During the peak of the rainy season the water spirits descent to earth from their homes in the clouds in order to dwell and cavort among human beings. These legendary spirits materialize in villages as masqueraders. All maskers are called “okoroshi”, best translated as “water spirit”.

The benign and friendly ones are “okoroshioma” - “beautiful spirits”, white-faced and white-dressed. The Igbo word “oma” means good, pretty, and light. Their aggressive male counterparts in dark blankets are called “okoroshiojo”, “ojo” meaning dark, ugly or heavy (cf. Cole & Aniakor, 1984, p. 186).

The object Face mask “okoroshi” with the object ID 3050060 was last part of the auction 101st Auction at November 11, 2023 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 182 achieved a sales price of EUR 450.

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Comparing literature

Cole, Herbert M. & Chike C. Aniakor, Igbo Arts, Los Angeles 1984, p. 186