Mask: Nnade Okumkpa (Senior Leader's Mask)

1960

Nigerian, 1910-1987

Nnade Okumkpa - "Father of Okumkpa" mask

A senior leader wears this "father" mask and no one gets close to him as he directs the skits and songs while narrating the action for hours. The eggshells on the surface emphasize the ritual value of this spirit. Eggs are not a normal food in Afikpo, but are placed in shrines and given to diviners.

Wood with raffia backing

13 x 6 x 5 1/2in. (33 x 15.2 x 14cm)

Gift of Simon Ottenberg, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

2005.42

Photo: Beth Mann

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Media

For SAM's My Favorite Things series in 2015, Nigerian artists Emeka Obgoh discusses SAM's collection of Chukwu Okoro masks and his Igbo heritage.

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Lessons from the Institute of Empathy, Mar. 31, 2018 - ongoing.

Published ReferencesIshikawa, Chiyo, ed., A Community of Collectors: 75th Anniversary Gifts to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007, illus. p. 130

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.

Learn more about Equity at SAM