Masque "okoroshi" ·  Nigéria, Igbo, Village de Mgbala Agwa, Romanus Nzeke (années 1970) · ID: 3052228

Description

wood, pigments,

For a comparable object of this artist see AHDRC 0094989.

During the peak of the rainy season the water spirits descent to earth from their homes in the clouds in order to dwell and cavort among human beings. These legendary spirits materialize in villages as masqueraders. All maskers are called “okoroshi”, best translated as “water spirit”.

The benign and friendly ones are “okoroshi oma” - “beautiful spirits”, white-faced and white-dressed. The Igbo word “oma” means good, pretty, and light. Their aggressive male counterparts in dark blankets are called “okoroshiojo”, “ojo” meaning dark, ugly or heavy (cf. Cole & Aniakor, 1984, p. 186).

L’objet Masque “okoroshi” numéro d’objet 3052228, a fait partie de la Vente aux enchères 105 le 15 novembre 2025, numéro de lot 304 et est actuellement disponible pour 1 000 € en Vente libre.

Vous trouverez d’autres Masques et autres types d’objets populaires sur nos pages thématiques associées. Notre page sur le thème Art africain pourrait également vous intéresser.

Littérature comparée

Cole, Herbert M. & Chike C. Aniakor, Igbo Arts, Los Angeles 1984, p. 195, ill. 309