Object Details
- Yoruba artist
- Label Text
- Egungun masquerades appear at annual festivals, funerals and special local events throughout the year. Generally, they honor the spirits of ancestors--either by portraying them or demonstrating to the ancestors that their descendents are upholding their traditions.
- While some masks are made totally of cloth, others--especially character masks--have a sculpted wood crest or face. This crest mask, with prominent facial marks, may depict an ancestor or be an unknown character. Without the complete costume and accompanying music, songs and dance, identification of egungun is difficult.
- Description
- Wood crest mask in the form of a stylized human head, with a crest hairstyle covered with linear incised decoration and blue pigment. The face and neck have red pigment, semicircular eyes placed against the hairline, rows of horizontal scarification lines and a flared plain wood base pierced with attachment holes.
- Provenance
- Anonymous donor, acquired Lagos, Nigeria, 1970 to 1996
- Exhibition History
- Gifts to the National Collection of African Art, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1997-January 4, 1998
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Anonymous gift in memory of Sylvia H. Williams
- ca. 1950
- Object number
- 96-39-1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Mask
- Medium
- Wood, pigment
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 39.7 x 14.9 x 18.6 cm (15 5/8 x 5 7/8 x 7 5/16 in.)
- Geography
- Nigeria
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- Object Name
- egungun
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- Ancestral
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_96-39-1
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7ed84580e-629e-4c42-a6fe-2831ff6cfde3
