Helmet mask "gelede" · Nigéria, Yoruba · ID: 3038501
Sotheby’s, New York, 25 May 1999, lot 42
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 3./4. Dezember 1999, lot 23
German Private Collection, Munich
Description
wood, reddish brown patina, remains of black paint, kaolin, striking narrow face with regular facial features, coiffure with fine incisions widely projecting to the back, drilled see holes, slightly dam., traces of insect caused damage (back of the head, rim backside), cracks, metal base;
“gelede” festivals are held at the arrival of the early spring rains and are performed in honour of “our mothers”, “awon iya wa”. The concept of “our mothers” refers to the inner, secret power of women in its creative and destructive aspects. It is woman’s power to give birth, and to sustain the patrilineage.
Littérature comparée
Fagaly, William, Ancestors of Congo Square, New Orleans 2011, p. 176
Publications
Eisenhofer, Stefan (Hg.), Kulte, Künstler, Könige in Afrika, Linz 1997, p. 249, ill. III/7.3Exposition
"Kulte, Künster, Könige in Afrika - Tradition und Moderne in Südnigeria, OÖ. Landesmuseum Linz, 1997