Yoruba Gelede body mask, Nigeria

18” tall by 9” wide by 7” deep (21” on mount)

ex Matthew Peppin

early to mid 20th century

A beautiful and well carved body mask with white and red paint. The area in the center of the mask appears as if there once was something attached to it in the shape of the area where there is no paint. There are 4 holes that would have been used to attach rope in to tie the mask to the dancer.

Male Yoruba dancers wear gelede masks at festivals honoring the women of the community. Gelede often serves as a showcase for artistic innovation, with its masks depicting motifs that are both entertaining and critical. In addition to the mask, the dancer would often wear a pair of wooden carved breasts. When a pregnant woman was being portrayed, the dancer would wear a body mask like this one which was tied onto the torso and was danced with a mimicry of female movements. This was something also done by the Makonde of Tanzania. For reference there is a photo of a body mask in use at the bottom of the page

*No longer available