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Mask: Okpesu Umuruma

Photo: Beth Mann

Mask: Okpesu Umuruma

1953

Chukwu Okoro, Mgbom village, Afikpo

Nigerian, 1910-1987

Afikpo

Nigerian

Okpesu Umuruma - "Frighten Children" mask

This mask is designed to be disturbing. Grotesque features often reinvent the human face with distortions-bulging cheeks, crooked mouths, and angled noses. This is a favorite mask worn by older players who dress in dark costumes.

Wood with raffia backing
11 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/2in. (27.9 x 14 x 14cm)
Gift of Simon Ottenberg, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2005.46
Photo: 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 collection of Chukwu Okoro masks and his Igbo heritage.
For SAM's My Favorite Things series in 2015, Nigerian artist Emeka Ogboh 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. 131

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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