Zoomorphic mask "gelede" · Nigeria, Yoruba-Anago · ID: 3036902
not available anymore
Size
H: 31 cm
H: 12.2 inch
Description
light wood, matt patina, polychrome paint, in form of an antelope head, surmounted by a teeth-revealing leopard, strings for attachment on the underside, rep. (breakage at the right horn), traces of abrasion, small missing parts;
“Gelede” celebrations mostly take place short before the planting of the yams roots. First when the “mothers” are conciliated, the men are able to do the farmwork and hope for a good harvest. The ritual starts by night. A hut of palm leaves is build in the middle of the dance floor, where all the masks were kept and where “iyalasche” provides the dancers with the respective mask.
Comparing literature
Wastiau, Boris, Medusa, The African sculpture of Enchantment, Geneva 2008, p. 145