Face mask, human features with white face and two horns. [ZM 08/04/2013]

Collection type: Object
Description: Face mask, human features with white face and two horns. [ZM 08/04/2013]
Long description: Face mask, human features with white face and two horns. Carved wooden mask with the eyes hollowed out. Symmetrical human facial features with two horns. The face is painted white with black/brown hair, eyebrows, a line down the nose and chin, plus three vertical black lines on the cheeks under each eye. The horns are painted black with white tips. The mouth is slightly open and painted blue round the outside. Roughly carved on the inner side with a hole a the top between the horns. [ZM 08/04/2013]
Geographical reference: Nigeria
Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria; Southern Nigeria Anambra State Onitsha
Cultural groups: Igbo
Person: Field collector Gwilym Iwan Jones; PRM source Gwilym Iwan Jones
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1937
Date collected: 1937
Acquisition information: Donated: 1938
Materials and processes: Material Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Perforated, Process Painted
Dimensions: Length: max 320 mm, Width: max 100 mm, Depth: max 101 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1938.15.18
Research and responses: John Picton examined this mask during a consultation visit to look at Igbo masks on 12 November 2013 and noted the following: This looks like the type of mask boys use to practise plays because it is small in size. When boys use masks for plays they wear them infront of the face or on top of the head, as the identity of the performer does not need to be hidden as small boys' plays require no ritual commitment and are performed for entertainment. [ZM 19/11/2013]

Search terms: Mask

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