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Igbo Maiden Spirit Mask, Nigeria #1200
- Igbo Maiden Spirit Mask, Nigeria #1200
- Early 20th C. Carved wood, pigment, cloth
- Agbogho Mmwo, or "Maiden Spirit" Masks are danced by men at Festivals that honor important Deities. The Maiden Masks represent the Igbo Ideal of Female Beauty: small, balanced features, elaborate hairstyles, and delicate tattoos.
- The Maiden Mask would have been used in performance by the male dancers to evoke a Woman that was the Embodiment of the "Feminine Ideal". Masks representing Women or Honoring Women's Powers performed by men was a means for a Community to negotiate Female Gender Roles.
- The men who dance Agbogho Mmwo Masks wear colorful, tight-fitting fiber costumes, entertaining the Village with exaggerated versions of Women's Dances.
- Igbo Maiden Masks are a visible manifestation of the Spirits of Departed Ancestors who periodically revisit the Human Community for Remembrance, Celebration, and Blessings.
- Kaolin taken from local Riverbeds (which are associated with Healing and with a Spiritual, Ancestral Realm of Existence) was applied to the facial surface of the Mask.
By using this Kaolin Clay Material/ Pigment, the Artist both celebrated the Beauty of Mortal Women a transformed into an Otherworldly, Sublime, Supernatural Being. -
Measurements: 19.5'' x 7.5'' x 11''
- Igbo Peoples, Nigeria, Africa
$883.50
Original: $2,945.00
-70%Igbo Maiden Spirit Mask, Nigeria #1200—
$2,945.00
$883.50
Description
- Igbo Maiden Spirit Mask, Nigeria #1200
- Early 20th C. Carved wood, pigment, cloth
- Agbogho Mmwo, or "Maiden Spirit" Masks are danced by men at Festivals that honor important Deities. The Maiden Masks represent the Igbo Ideal of Female Beauty: small, balanced features, elaborate hairstyles, and delicate tattoos.
- The Maiden Mask would have been used in performance by the male dancers to evoke a Woman that was the Embodiment of the "Feminine Ideal". Masks representing Women or Honoring Women's Powers performed by men was a means for a Community to negotiate Female Gender Roles.
- The men who dance Agbogho Mmwo Masks wear colorful, tight-fitting fiber costumes, entertaining the Village with exaggerated versions of Women's Dances.
- Igbo Maiden Masks are a visible manifestation of the Spirits of Departed Ancestors who periodically revisit the Human Community for Remembrance, Celebration, and Blessings.
- Kaolin taken from local Riverbeds (which are associated with Healing and with a Spiritual, Ancestral Realm of Existence) was applied to the facial surface of the Mask.
By using this Kaolin Clay Material/ Pigment, the Artist both celebrated the Beauty of Mortal Women a transformed into an Otherworldly, Sublime, Supernatural Being. -
Measurements: 19.5'' x 7.5'' x 11''
- Igbo Peoples, Nigeria, Africa
