Artifact Record Details
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Basic Information |
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| Artifact Identification | Yoruba Egungun Mask (1983.05.0008) | |
| Classification | Communication Artifacts : Ceremonial Artifact : Mask | |
| Visual Description | Carved wooden helmet mask depicting a large human head with bulging uneven eyes, open mouth bearing teeth, protruding beard, the top surmounted by a turtle. The beard is incised with linear striations; the cheeks are incised with three linear scarification marks. Eyes and teeth are pigmented white, eyes with black pupils. Two large ears are carved in relief, the right ear partially broken. Large splits in the wood occur in several places. The surface is stained reddish-brown, a circular flange projects from the lower part of the head. Turtle shell is incised with grid pattern, the head smooth with no appendages. | |
| Artist/Maker | Adugboclogue household, Abeokuta, Itoko Quarter | |
| Geographic Location | Africa, Nigeria, Abeokuta, Ikoto Quarter | |
| Period/Date | , 20th century | |
| Culture | Yoruba | |
| Locality/Archaeological Site | ||
Physical Analysis |
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| Dimension 1 (Height) | 35.5 cm | |
| Dimension 2 (Depth) | 26.8 cm | |
| Dimension 3 (Width) | 23.7 cm | |
| Weight | 2,509 g | |
| Measuring Remarks | weighed without acid-free paper padding. | |
| Materials | Wood, Pigment--Stain | |
| Manufacturing Processes | Carving, Incising, Hollowing, Staining | |
| Munsell Color Information | waived | |
Research Remarks |
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| Published Description | N/A | |
| Scholarly Notes | 3/13/2008: "ENGUNGEN MASK Yoruba/Nigeria: Grogesque and often srrealistic in conception, engungan masks are used mainly at funerals of members of the cult and represent deceased members of the family. Gift of Richard and Barbara Faletti. Rough carving. Turtle on top of head, large protruding eyes. Incised beard and cheeks. Eyes and teeth painted with white pigments which have yellowed. Appraisal sheet calls this piece an "Engungun Headdress" and attributes it to "Abeokuta, Itoko quarter, Nigeria." Faletti notes, "According to Dr. J. Hammer, carved by someone in Adugbocogue household, Abeokuta, Itoko Quarter. One of my early acquisitions in Nigeria, 1980." Is Abeokuta then aloestos? " - Unknown Name, Unknown Date. 2/15/2008: " Yoruba Egungun Mask, 1983.05.0008, In the area around the city of Oyo in Yorubaland (Southeastern Nigeria) annual or Biennial festivals called egungun are celebrations of the ancestors who are deceased, but not yet departed from the earthly world. Egungun (meaning "powers concealed") consists of a series of ritual masquerades performed over a period of several weeks to honor these "living dead" who act as advisors and spiritual intermediaries between the visible and invisible realms. Because the festivals reaffirm the importance of family members and members of the community who have died but still have influence, they are not just a commemorative funerals but celebrations of continuing relationships between individuals in a transformed context. Masquerades include many layers of brightly colored but generally juxtapose human and animal features creating an amusing and often grotesque representation. Movements of people are specific local histories create differences in the way that egungun masquerades are performed as well as regional masking styles. The hairstyles on this mask, associated with that of a hunter, is a style trait of the region of Abeokuta, where carving workshops are characterized for employing fully-rounded naturalism in their interpretations. Ref: Drewal, Henry John, John Pemberton III, and Rowland Abiodun. Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. New York: The Center for African Art in association with Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1989. " - Unknown author, unknown date. Yoruba, Egungun headdress, head surmounted by a turtle, Abeokuta, Itoko quarter. Nigeria. - E. Robertson, 12/14/83 According to Dr. J. Hammer, carved by someone in Adugboclogue household, Abeokuta, Itoko Quarter. - R. Faletti, n.d. Egungun maskers perform lively acrobatic dances at ancestral festivals, using mime and masks to praise the gods and heroes, satirize politicians and wrongdoers, and ridicule strangers. They also perform for fees at secular festivities. - D. Schrishuhn, 7/24/2000 Head crest (not helmet mask). - R. Faletti, 2000 Many of these 1983.05 pieces list Eric Robertson. I don't know the source for this attribution, but Eric had nothing to do with those pieces. - R. Faletti, 2000 | |
| Comparanda | N/A | |
| Bibliography | "African arts" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
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Artifact History |
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| Archaeological Data | N/A | |
| Credit Line/Dedication | Richard and Barbara Faletti Family Collection | |
| Reproduction | no | |
| Reproduction Information | N/A | |