1939.6.8

Collection type

Object

Description

Forehead mask representing man's head with the figure of a drummer stood on the top.

Long description

Wooden mask of a human face with carved openings at the centre of the eyes and nostrils. A figure holding a drum in each hand carved on the top of the head. Painted with browns, blue and white. [ZM 13/05/2013]

Geographical reference

Nigeria

Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria

Cultural groups

Yoruba

Person

Field collector Philip Fairface Mason

PRM source Philip Fairface Mason

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1939

Date collected

By 1939

Acquisition information

Donated: 1939

Materials and processes

Material Cottonwood Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Material Chalk Stone, Process Carved, Process Painted

Dimensions

Height: max 313 mm, Diameter: max 266 mm base, Length: max 305 mm, Width: max 251 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1939.6.8

Research and responses

John Picton examined this mask during a consultation visit about the Yoruba masks on 20 August 2013 and noted the following: This is a gelede style mask representing a man's face with a drummer on top holding a pair of drums with a curved, flexible, drumstick over his shoulder. This does not look as though it was carved in Abeokuta but is in the style of the Ketu Kingdom carvings near the Dahomey and Nigeria border, this was probably most likely made in Mako town. This is attractively carved and painted, including the use of reckitts blue (the paler blue created by mixing with chalk and the darker by mixing with indigo). This type of mask is worn at the forehead, like a cap or hat. [ZM 27/08/2013]

From the accession book description of a mask used to ensure fertility and the descriptions of how this is used in the donor's notes in the related documents file this appears to be a description of a gelede rather than an egungun masquerade to honour the ancestors. If this is a gelede mask the use of the word egungun in the accession book is not surprising as in the relevant literature it is often noted that egungun is a term that has often been used simply to refer to any masquerade or masked figure (for example see Henry John Drewal, 1978, 'The Arts of Egungun among Yoruba Peoples' in African Arts, Volume 11, No. 3 pp. 18-19 and 97-98). [ZM 27/01/2014]

Adéwálé Adénlé, Assistant Professor at Georgia State University, viewed this gelede mask in December 2024. He has advised that the geographical provenance of Kano State is incorrect and should be removed from the record. The 'Kano District' mentioned in the accession book entry is likely to refer to an enclave of people from Kano living in Abeokuta.

Associated publications

Illustrated in colour on page 27 of Pitt Rivers Museum: An Introduction, by Julia Cousins (Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, 2004). Caption (same page) reads: 'Painted wooden mask made by a Yoruba artist from Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Such a mask, with the addition of a complete body disguise, would be worn by a dancer during the ceremonies of the Egungun society, held to honour the spirits of the ancestors.' [JC 8 10 2004] Illustrated in colour on page 15 of Particularly Ravishing Morsels: Recipes from Around the World Inspired by the Collections, by The Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum (no place [Oxford], no publisher [Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum], no date [2007]). It is used to illustrate a recipe for 'Yoruba Yoyo Stew' by Adam Butcher and is captioned 'Egungun dancing mask, Yoruba, Nigeria. 1939.6.8' [El.B 29/04/2008] Illustrated in colour on page 64 of The Pitt Rivers Museum: A World Within, by Michael O’Hanlon (London: Scala, 2014). Caption (same page) reads: ’48 Carved and painted wooden mask, worn on the forehead; the figure on top represents a drummer carrying two drums. Yoruba people, Nigeria Height 313 mm Collected and donated by P.F. Mason 1939.6.8’ [MJD (Verve) 19/2/2016]

Search terms: Mask, Dance, Figure, Dance Accessory