agbogho mmuo mask

agbogho mmuo mask, late 1800s

Where object was made: Nigeria

Material/technique: plant fiber; wood; carving; paint; cloth

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 116 x 37 x 38 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 45 11/16 x 14 9/16 x 14 15/16 in

Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. Kenneth Palmer

Accession number: 2007.3169

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures," Jun-2013, Cassandra Mesick
This helmet mask was created for the annual agbogho mmuo (maiden spirit) masquerade performed by the Onitsha people of southeastern Nigeria. Although worn by male dancers, these masks communicate ideals of Igbo femininity, exemplified by delicate facial features and elaborate coiffures. Today, as Westernized values of female beauty challenge traditional Onitsha paradigms, the agbogho mmuo masquerade offers an arena for native peoples to reassert, and sometimes reformulate, their own perceptions of masculinity and femininity in a globalized world.

Exhibition Label:
"For Life's Sake: Arts from Africa," Oct-1983, Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen
The variety of images projected by this helmet mask tell entertaining as well as moralizing stories on several visual and symbolic levels. The large, white, calm face of the mask proper designates a spirit of the dead and is the locus of the masking cult's spiritual energy. This supports, literally and figuratively, the scenes of daily life, including a seated ruler with crown and staff, a couple in coitus, two men on a motorcycle, a drummer, and a water carrier. The turtle and the elephant may carry allusions to desirable human virtues. At a slightly higher level appear masked figures of moralizing didactic import. The whole configuration is crowned and dominated by a human head with "seeing" spirit-filled eyes, framed by two hornbills. These mystical birds, linked with women and the earth, occur in much of West African art as emblems for fecundity.