Mask "gelede" ·  Nigéria, Yoruba · ID: 3033730

Description

wood, polychrome paint, helmet-shaped, min. dam., cracks, small missing parts, traces of abrasion;
in contrast to Yoruba societies like “egungun” or “ogboni”, which are dedicated to the veneration of ancestors, “gelede” is directed on forces manifest in the world of the living, associated above all with women. In some areas “gelede” honours “ogun” the god of iron and the art of war, in other regions “eshu” is adored, the trickster god and messenger of the gods.