A Mumuye Helmet Mask, wood , bone, glass, fiber and earth. Masks of the Benue river area are typically abstract and schematic (see Warrens and Nooter, African Art in American Collections, Washington, 1989, p. 296). These masks are used during the Vabong ceremony, which constitutes the fifth phase of one of the Mumuye initiation rituals. During the Vabong, masks representing both male and female spirits were brought out as a signal for the initiates to perform ceremonial whipping (see Neyt, Mumuye, Paris, 2006, p. 42). 24" L Provenance: Ex collection, New York, N.Y.

Intact