Helmet Mask Item Number: 3326/11 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Egungun helmet mask carved from blackened wood. Round head with large bulging white eyes, large ears, a flat broad nose, and broad mouth with serrated teeth. Depicted with facial marks, with c. three vertical and three horizontal lines beneath on both cheeks; three horizontal lines on the forehead. A large braided hairstyle or headdress extends from the top of the head down to the left, tapering to a knob end.

History Of Use

Worn during the egungun masquerade; an ancestor headdress for a hunter.

Narrative

Assumed to have been collected by Lieber while he was living in Nigeria (1965-1970), lecturing at the University of Ibadan under the auspices of CIDA.