Mask Representing a Maiden Spirit

early 20th century

African Art

On view, 1st floor, African Art

This mask was featured on the cover of a booklet published for the exhibition The Linton Collection of African Sculpture, held at Yale University Art Gallery in 1954. Though the mask would have been performed by a man, its fine facial features represent the Igbo ideal of feminine beauty. The carved patterns in low relief represent uli painting, an art of body adornment that is the exclusive prerogative of Igbo women.

Medium

Cleistopholis wood

Dimensions

10 × 6 × 4 1/2 in. (25.4 × 15.24 × 11.43 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Osborn for the Linton Collection of African Art

Accession Number

1954.28.13

Geography

Awka-Onitsha, Nigeria

Culture

Igbo, Onitsha subgroup

Period

20th century

Classification

Masks

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Dr. Ralph Linton (1893–1953), by 1953 [see note 1]; by descent to his wife, Adelin Hohlfield Linton (1899–1977); sold to Marie-Louise Montgomery Osborn (1905–1968) and James Marshall Osborn (1906–1976), 1954; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.,1954

Note 1: Ralph Linton was the Sterling Professor of Anthropology at Yale from 1946 until his death in 1953.
Object copyright
Copyright Undetermined
Additional information

Object/Work type

ceremonial objects, masks (costume)

Subject

spirits (beings)

Technical metadata and APIs

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