Face Mask (Agbogho Mmuo)

Description

The facial features and extravagant hairstyles of white-faced maiden masks evoke an ideal of youthful feminine beauty. The color white is associated with purity. Worn by men dressed in colorful appliquéd bodysuits, such spirit masks appear in groups at the annual Fame of Maidens festival and at funerals of respected elders, where they honor the deceased, entertain the public, and reiterate traditional values.

Provenance

Jeffrey Hammer and Deborah Stokes, Chicago, Ill. then Sherman Oaks, Calif., by 1984 [published in Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos 1984, p. 125, cat. 226, as "Hammer Collection, Chicago"]; sold to the Art Institute, 1994.

Face Mask (Agbogho Mmuo)

Igbo

Late 19th or early 20th century

Accession Number

158949

Medium

Wood and pigment

Dimensions

62.3 × 20.4 × 26.7 cm (24 1/2 × 8 × 10 1/2 in.)

Classification

masks

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Cora Abrahamson, Gladys N. Anderson, Harriett A. Fox, and Simeon B. Williams endowments