Gelede Mask
Arts of Africa
Gelede masks, such as this one, 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. The gelede performances entertain and educate, and document elements of everyday life, such as the woman’s head tie in this example. Through their movements, gelede dancers express Yoruba ideals of male and female behavior.
MEDIUM
Wood, pigment
DATES
late 19th or early 20th century
DIMENSIONS
11 3/4 x 9 1/4 x 12 in. (29.8 x 23.5 x 30.5 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
22.227
CREDIT LINE
Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Mask with large elaborate headtie painted in many layers of yellow, blue, red, green, brown, and black. Nostrils pierced for wearer to see through.
Condition is fair. Paint raised and cracked.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Yorùbá. Gelede Mask, late 19th or early 20th century. Wood, pigment, 11 3/4 x 9 1/4 x 12 in. (29.8 x 23.5 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1922, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 22.227. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.227_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 22.227_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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