Gelede Body Mask

Artist:Yorùbá

Medium: Wood, paint

Geograhical Locations:

• Benin

Dates:19th century

Dimensions: 49 1/2 x 22 x 15 1/2 in. (125.7 x 55.9 x 39.4 cm)

Collections:

• Arts of Africa

Exhibitions:

• Realm of Marvels: Building Collections for the Future
• Disguise: Masks and Global African Art
• Passages: Photographs in Africa by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher

Accession Number: 1999.129

Image: 1999.129_SL3.jpg,

Catalogue Description:
The object is a Gelede body mask. From bottom to top, its body is a cylindrical form with a protruding abdomen into which two small curved eye holes have been cut. Above the abdomen are hanging breasts. Arms are bent with hands holding a purple and white shawl which is draped around the shoulders. Above the shoulders is a cylindrical neck supporting a helmet mask covered in white pigment with a broad nose and mouth, protruding eyes, and median crest coiffure. There are indigenous repairs along a split in the center of the abdomen at the left side of the back.

Brooklyn Museum