Gelede Helmet Mask of a Gendarme
1 of 3
Object Label
Male Yoruba dancers wear gelede masks at festivals honoring the women of the community. Gelede masquerades often serve as a showcase for artistic innovation, with their masks depicting motifs that are both entertaining and critical. This mask depicts a French gendarme, a colonial soldier wearing a blue cap, and was most likely performed as a critique of French personal and political behavior during the colonial period.
Caption
Yorùbá. Gelede Helmet Mask of a Gendarme, early 20th century. Wood, metal, pigment, 10 x 7 x 11 in. (25.4 x 17.8 x 27.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Eugene and Harriet Becker, 1991.226.3. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1991.226.3_SL3.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Gelede Helmet Mask of a Gendarme
Date
early 20th century
Geography
Place made: Benin
Medium
Wood, metal, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
10 x 7 x 11 in. (25.4 x 17.8 x 27.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Eugene and Harriet Becker
Accession Number
1991.226.3
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
What is this?
Depictions of Europeans by African artists come up throughout this gallery. Here we have a Yoruba depiction of a French soldier and at the entrance of this gallery you'll see another Yoruba beaded crown which mimics the wig of a British barrister.Tell me more.
Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ masks are worn by male Yorùbá dancers at festivals honoring the women of the community, living and ancestral, especially powerful mothers.The annual gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ festival usually takes place in the market square, the center of cultural, economic, and religious activity. The festival is comprised of both a night concert (èfè) and afternoon dance (ijó òsán).What is this?
This Yorùbá mask was made to resemble a French policeman. Depictions of Europeans by African artists are actually pretty common, and there are other garments and even crowns that include individuals in european clothing in our collection!This gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ mask would be worn by male Yorùbá dancers at festivals honoring women of the community. The performances and designs associated with gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ festival generally relate to elements of everyday life. The mask was likely performed as a critique of French behavior during the colonial period.
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at