African Tribal Art: Yoruba People, Nigeria: Gelede mask featuring a female figure seated atop the coiffure of a large female head. Mid 20th Century. Carved wood, pigments and paint. The mask comes with a custom-made steel display stand.

Both the figure and the head bear almost identical tribal scarification marks on their cheeks and forehead. The seated figure wears a painted crown, which shows her status as a queen.

Gelede masks are worn by male Yoruba dancers at festivals honoring the women of the community, living and dead, especially the powerful Great Mothers, including both the elderly women of the community and the ancestors of Yoruba society. Through their movements, Gelede dancers express Yoruba ideals of male and female behavior.

31H x 9W x 14D, 41H on stand (inches).

Private Collection, Massachusetts, Private Collection, New York

Good condition with abrasions and other signs of age and handling. Repair to a stress crack in the lower rim.

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