A janus horned dance crest. Nigeria, Ijebu. 20th century. 28"h x 15"w x 17"d.
Provenance: Inventory and Collection from the Estate of Merton D. Simpson.
Catalog Notes: “This dramatic headdress is more severe, geometric, and linear than most familiar Yoruba sculptures. With extraordinary mastery of a single block of wood, the sculptor has created an expressive work built entirely out of pure geometric shapes. The face is a disk, the nose a triangle, the cap a hemisphere, and the lips two bars, but the whole is a human face of great beauty. Overlying that face playfully and mysteriously is the long-nosed face of a horned animal that reuses elements of the larger face in a double entendre.
Ijebu water-spirit masks such as this example are used in performances that are part of a festival known as Agbo. This mask's two hornlike projections are braids that recall coiffures worn by Ijebu priests, queens, and elders. It was apparently worn by a performer, whose body was concealed by a costume attached around the top of the wooden cap, hiding it completely." Metmuseum.org
Simpson # 5505 acquired December 9, 1988 for $10,000 from Riviere