Old helmet mask · Nigeria, Yoruba · ID: 3039551
sold
EUR 2,200
Provenance
Heinz Reschke, Frankfurt, Germany (Curator at the Museum of Ethnology Frankfurt am Main; he was a scholar and assistant of the famous ethnologist Leo Frobenius from 1934-1938)Size
H: 23,5 cm
H: 9.3 inch
Description
“gelede” mask style, but made from metal (presumably bronze alloy), minor missing parts in the cast, dark patina;
a work of the artist Ali Amonikoyi (1880-1920); collected in the village Kete Krachi, Togo, around 1900. Amonikoyi was a Yoruba born in Nigeria who migrated to Togo. There he used ancient brass-casting techniques to make mask forms resembling Yoruba “gelede” masks. These masks were placed on top of graves as memorials to the deceased, rather than being worn in dance performances. Some of his masks are nowadays kept by the Brooklyn Museum, New York.