AFRICAN TRIBAL YORUBA GELEDE CULT MASK HEADDRESS NIGERIA EX NEW YORK COLLECTION

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AFRICAN TRIBAL YORUBA GELEDE CULT MASK HEADDRESS NIGERIA EX NEW YORK COLLECTION:
$265.00

Classic Yoruba Gelede Mask - Nigeria
Early-Mid 20th Century, Original
Wood, pigment, patina
Height 45.7cm ( 18in )Private New York, New York Estate Collection

Detailed provenance documentation on file and can accompany the artifact for historical conservation purposes.This elaborate mask belongs to the Gelede cult which honors the power of women. Yet Gelede is only one part of the cult, the diurnal half, Efe being the nocturia other half. Efe/Gelede ceremonies usually take place at the beginning of an agricultural cycle, at funerals, or at times of need such as drought or disease. The occurrence of the masked dance is determined by the female cult head, iyalase. The Gelede festival pays tribute to female mystical power of ancestors, elders, and deities. These women are known as \"our mothers.\" The power of \"our mothers\" is at once constructive, relating to fertility, knowledge of the secret of life, and also destructive, a surreptitious power, aje, which is more like witchcraft. Fine condition, displaying typical age cracks (all stable). One crack appears to have an old repair. Appropriate for age origin and medium with definitive signs of use.This museum quality helmet mask was acquired from a prominent New York, New York Estate Collection. Although the source of the subject mask could not be confirmed, the majority of the collection contents derived from distinguished sale sales, institutions, and galleries such as the Segy Gallery, also in New York.Reference a similar example in Lawal, Babatunde. The Gèlèdé Spectacle: Art, Gender, and Social Harmony in an African Culture, University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1996, p. 228, fig 7.50a. See last photo or review in the publication.
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