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Details
LOT 2376
African Wooden Ceremonial 'Maiden Spirit' Face Mask
IGBO TRIBE, EARLY 20TH CENTURY A.D.
22 in. (1.4 kg, 56 cm).
A mask with long narrow face, painted white; narrow protruding sharp nose; slit eyes; closed mouth; small ears, arching eyebrows, incised hair design and above this is an elaborate openwork construction in brown, yellow and white. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From South-West Nigeria, West Africa.
From an old Newbury, UK, ethnographic collection.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
Footnotes
Agbogho mmwo, or "maiden spirit," masks are worn by men at festivals that honour important deities. They represent the Igbo ideal of female beauty: small, balanced features, elaborate hairstyles, and delicate tattoos. The men who dance in agbogho mmwo masks wear colourful, tight-fitting fibre costumes, entertaining the crowd with exaggerated versions of women's dances.
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