Mask Item Number: 3600/4 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Carved wooden mask depicting red humanoid face. Short black ridge wraps around top edge of head; diagonal lines incised throughout, imitating hair. Rectangles protrude from either side of face, imitating ears; triangles carved in relief across surface, done in white and blue. Face has a long thin nose over protruding lips; eyes are partially closed and rest underneath semi-circular eyebrows. Large bird perched on top of white and blue column, protruding from top edge of mask. Bird is white with blue and yellow highlights; has an orange beak and large black crest. Sides of mask are undecorated and have holes drilled into them; mask is hollowed.
Purchased by Peter Oberlander on his frequent trips to Africa, sometime between 1958-1990. Oberlander was teaching and consulting in Ghana, and consulting for the UN in Nigeria and Kenya.