DANCE MASK from the company GÈLÈDÈ - Wood - Yoruba - Benin

Dance mask from the Gèlèdè society Yoruba culture, South-West Nigeria or Benin First half of the 20th century Wood and pigments Height: 39 cm - Width: 22 - Thickness: 27 cm Anthropomorphic crest mask in openwork wood and pigmented with blue, white and red. The masks of the Gèlèdè Society have two distinct parts. The lower part, whose front part is openwork in a diamond pattern and whose back part has a crusty patina, is sculpted according to the stylistic features of the Yoruba culture: almond-shaped eyes, pierced in their centre and pigmented with white, a fine, short nose, a mouth with finely drawn lips that still have traces of red pigment, and two comma-shaped ears at the temples. The upper part, symbolising the inner power, shows a special headdress. Three incised hems run into two joined triangles forming like a bird's beak. The ceremonies of the Gèlèdè society celebrate the "Great Mother". Ancestor of all women, she is the divine and protective power. The bird evokes nocturnal powers and the figure of the mother's messenger.