Janus-faced dance crest ·  Nigeria, Ijaw · ID: 3053591

Description

wood, pigments, rattan, metal sheet,

For a dance crest by the same artist / workshop, see AHDRC 0171351.

The Ijaw are among the oldest inhabitants of the Niger Delta, having settled in the region as early as around AD 800. Their religious beliefs encompass the female deity “wonyinghi”, ancestors and nature spirits (“oru”), which are central to many rituals and represented in masks and sculptures.

The standing figures on the mask headdresses of the central and western Ijaw are regarded as miniature versions of shrine sculptures representing these nature spirits. They may take naturalistic or geometric forms; the presence of multiple faces is interpreted as an expression of supernatural powers.

Comparing literature

Lebas, Alain (ed.), Arts of Nigeria in French Private Collections, Milan 2012, ill. 40