Object Details
- Anago Master
- Yoruba artist
- Label Text
- Gelede is a masquerade to honor and placate the "mothers," incarnate forces of thwarted fertility and spiritual power who are less diplomatically referred to as witches. Although men, appearing in pairs, dance these masks, many gelede masks depict women. Some are satiric or genre characters such as the prostitute or the Islamic northerner. Others have elaborate superstructures with figures of devotees, animals, exaggerated head ties (a woman's head covering) or even palm trees. The headdress on this mask is apparently unique; it most probably refers to a particular deity or the deity's devotee. Although the sections rising from the head have some stylistic affinities with the relief carving of divination boards, a reference to Ifa, the god of fate and order, is unlikely. Similarities can also be found with the designs on the textile panels of some gelede mask costumes.
- Gelede masks are worn like caps and tilted at a 45-degree angle on the forehead. The sculptor takes this angle into account when carving the mask.
- This mask is one of four identified as being by the same individual, an unidentified artist from a far western Yoruba group, the Anago of Benin. The attribution is now formalized as the Anago Master. The distinctive arrangement and size of the features are consistent with characteristics of this master, as are the flat-topped, rectangular ear, the profile of the eyelids and the precise triangular chip carving.
- This beautiful mask is masterfully carved and retains much of its traditional polychrome decoration. Exemplifying a particular workshop and artist, the mask is distinctly local but also clearly Yoruba in a panregional sense. It offers possibilities for iconographic research and references to other Yoruba deities and related object types.
- Description
- Wood cap mask representing a person with an elaborate headdress of alternating rectangular panels, and openwork circles. Panels either have rows of triangles or an "8" motif. The mask has a distinctive variant C-form ear, chip carved hair across the forehead and sideburns and three scarification marks on cheeks and forehead. Remains of yellow pigment are visible on the face.
- Provenance
- Pace Primitive, New York, 1982
- Drs. Daniel and Marian Malcolm, New York, -- to 1997
- Entwistle, London, 1997
- Exhibition History
- Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 16, 2019–October 3, 2021
- Black Womanhood: Images, Icons, and Ideologies of the African Body, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, New Hampshire, April 1-August 10, 2008, Davis Museum, Wellesley College, September 17-December 14, 2008, San Diego Museum of Art, January 31-April 26, 2009
- Playful Performers, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 9-December 12, 2004
- Master Hand: Individuality and Creativity Among Yoruba Sculptors, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September 11, 1997-August 1, 1998
- Published References
- Cunningham, Lawrence. 2006. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Belmont, CA : Thomson/Wadsworth, pp. 542, 552, no. 20.9.
- Fagg, William Buller and John Pemberton III. 1982. Yoruba: Sculpture of West Africa. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, no. 29.
- Fagg, William and John Pemberton III. 1982. Yoruba Sculpture of West Africa. New York: Pace Editions, pp. 110-111, no. 29.
- National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 76, no. 48.
- Thompson, Barbara. 2008. Black Womanhood: Images, Icons, and Ideologies of the African Body. Hanover: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College with Seattle: University of Washington Press, no. 2.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- 19th century
- Object number
- 97-11-1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Mask
- Medium
- Wood, pigment
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 21.5 x 25.0 x 27.8 cm (8 7/16 x 9 13/16 x 10 15/16 in.)
- Geography
- Anago or Ifonyin region, Benin
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- Object Name
- gelede
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- Male use
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_97-11-1
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7b50fa396-7275-4585-8cbc-3e8ed2692022
