Artwork Page for Headdress

Details / Information for Headdress

Headdress

early 1900s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Idoma-style carver

Medium
Wood, human hair, paint, and possibly kaolin
Measurements
Overall: 20.4 x 17.8 x 16.2 cm (8 1/16 x 7 x 6 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund 1964.444
Public Domain
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Location
108A African
Print
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Did You Know?

Holes in the neck once attached a flat raffia disk or strings for wearing the headdress-type mask on top of the head.

Description

This was used in masked performances of the Agrinya society, a powerful guild formerly restricted to men who had killed an elephant, lion, or man. The white pigment connotes the realm of the ancestors, while the aggressive expression of the face seems to suggest the courage of Agrinya society members.

Headdress

early 1900s

Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Idoma-style carver

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