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Mask: Ibibio Style

Photo by Beth Mann

Mask: Ibibio Style

1959-1960

There once was a parade in Nigeria where men of different ages dressed to take on new identities for a few days and turn normal life upside down. This dedication to masquerade parades and plays was studied by Simon Ottenberg, whose books recount their effectiveness and whose masks form the basis for this display.

Beauty is exemplified by a maiden who walks with long strides while carrying a headdress with mirrors and feathers on her head. She is followed by a line of couples, leaders—some modern and others traditional—with two schoolchildren at the end. Beasts are characterized by their dark, rough, and often disheveled appearances. A masker known as Aro, or the slave trader, ends this sequence with a gun carried in the pouch on his back.
Wood with raffia backing
10 x 7 x 6 1/2in. (25.4 x 17.8 x 16.5cm)
Gift of Simon Ottenberg, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2005.34
Photo by Beth Mann
location
Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Media

For SAM's My Favorite Things series in 2015, Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh discusses SAM's Chukwu Okoro masks and his Igbo heritage.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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