Description
The facial features and extravagant hairstyles of white-faced maiden masks evoke an ideal of youthful feminine beauty. The color white is associated with purity. Worn by men dressed in colorful appliquéd bodysuits, such spirit masks appear in groups at the annual Fame of Maidens festival and at funerals of respected elders, where they honor the deceased, entertain the public, and reiterate traditional values.
Provenance
Jeffrey Hammer and Deborah Stokes, Chicago, Ill. then Sherman Oaks, Calif., by 1984 [published in Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos 1984, p. 125, cat. 226, as "Hammer Collection, Chicago"]; sold to the Art Institute, 1994.
Accession Number
158949
Medium
Wood and pigment
Dimensions
62.3 × 20.4 × 26.7 cm (24 1/2 × 8 × 10 1/2 in.)
Classification
masks
Credit Line
Cora Abrahamson, Gladys N. Anderson, Harriett A. Fox, and Simeon B. Williams endowments