This is the rating and price for Yoruba Ere Egungun Mask Published Museum Exhibit, mid 20th century

Description : Provenance:From the personal Collection of Elizabeth Bennett and Sara F. Luther. Exhibited at the South Dakota Art Museum Published in the catalog: Daniel Mato, PhD., Chelsea Cooksey, YORUBA: AN ART OF LIFE. The Bennett-Luther Collection Africa Direct, Denver, Colorado, 2004, fig.41, p. 55  ,Additional Information: This classic example of an Egungun masquerade most probably comes from the Yoruba Oyo area and is a true connoisseurs object and worthy of a museum collection. This is a particularly complete example of an Egungun headpiece consisting of a wooden carved flat headpiece with standing four figures on either side of a large Janus shaped human head. Two of the figures are females who offer their breasts as symbolic gesture of offering to the ancestors. The other figures are males, one wearing a farmers wide brimmed hat and the other figure a man from town wearing modern clothing. The crown of the central head has a large dramatic womans hair crest, shiny from many applications of blue indigo coloring joins two well carved and painted faces, representations of the Yoruba deity Eshu (Esu) who himself is a messenger to the gods. This age and obvious long use of this mask can be seen in the indigo coloring matter collected on the surface of the hair filling in the details of the coiffure and the facial markings. This extraordinarily well carved and colored Egungun head crest / mask is a classic example of Yoruba blending of sculptural imagery, color symbolism, and myth given life during dramatic dancing performances. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, masqueraders known as Ere Egungun dance to represent and celebrate the ancestors known as Ara Orun - or Beings from beyond . The Yoruba see the world as a continuum composed of the living and the dead with the ancestor ever present in the life of an individual, their family, and town. Egungun dancers completely covered in voluminous cloths or in costumes surmounted by a carved headdress appear during ceremonies honoring the ancestors or will dance to represent present lineage members. Egungun masquerades were noted as early as 1826 and the tradition continues among the Yoruba today combining long established traditions and contemporary imagery. Egungun masquerades combine the use of a number of brightly colored cloths that at times appear to be simply piled on the dancers head and covering the body or the cloth will be surmounted by carved eadpieces of human and animal forms. This covering of the body, literally hiding the dancer and creating a sense of mystery and ambiguity is found in the very meaning of the word Egungun, The powers concealed . , , It must be kept in mind that this wonderful carving would surmount a large costume of different colored cloths completely covering the dancers body and thereby creating the sense of mystery and awe so integral to the appearance of Egungun. The dancer would be completely covered by the cloth with their face covered by cloth netting to allow them see while dancing. ,  ,Recommended Reading: Drewal , H. J. and J. Pemberton III, with R. Abiodun Yoruba: Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought, (New York, 1989) Drewal, H. J. and M. Thompson Drewal., Gelede, Art and Female Power among the Yoruba. 1983.  ,Fagg, W. and J. Pemberton III: Yoruba Sculpture of West Africa, (New York, 1982) Lawal, B.: The Gelede Spectacle. Art, Gender, and Social Harmony in an African Culture. (Seattle, London 1996) Mato, D., Chelsea Cooksey, Yoruba: Art of Life. The Bennett-Luther Collection, Denver 2004 , Witte, H.: A Closer Look, Local Styles in the Yoruba Art Collection of the Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal. 2004. Thompson, R. F, Black Gods and Kings 1971. I have examined this piece and agree with the description. Niangi Batulukisi, PhD.  ,
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