Yoruba Bead Hat (#593)

Description

Formerly Displayed:
·
Kennedy Museum of Art at Ohio University (February through April 2007)
·
Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine art at Auburn University (February through May 2008).
·
5
th
Avenue Mask Museum, Hendersonville NC (# 593), see photo with other masks
Tag on mask: “Yoruba Bead Hat from Nigeria”
Measurements are approximate.
Mask height: 14
inches
Mask diameter:
8 1/2 inches
Material: Beads, cloth
Acquired year: pre2004
Acquired from: unknown
Information and the only claim with respect to authenticity about this mask are taken from notes and sketches by Ellen Hobbs
and from the museum catalogue
Behind the Mask
.
No other representations of authenticity are made.
This “conical crown, called
adéńlá
, is worn during a public event by chiefs, rulers, and priests. The two large beaded faces are the faces of royal ancestors that reach back to . . . the first divine ruler who began the royal lineage. . . . The clusters of birds refer to ‘our mothers’. . . . It is understood that the women can transform themselves into birds at night and use their powers negatively. Thus, it is important to keep them happy and honored" (123).
Quoted from t
he museum catalog
Behind the Mask
(see photos) [copyrighted 2008 by Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art Auburn University (
www.jcsm.auburn.edu
); the pages shown here have been reproduced with the Museum’s permission].