Iya wo (Wife and Mother) Mask and Costume for a "Being from Beyond"
Date2000
Label TextThese two seated characters are Egungun, or "beings from beyond," who bring the spirits of powerful people back to visit and reassert their influence. This mother is often the last spirit to emerge in a performance, adding her serious comedy to conclude the visit. Carefully seated with her baby in her lap, she appears to be a committed and loving mother.
Suddenly, however, when she spots a handsome man nearby, she tosses the baby in the air and forgets all about her maternal obligations so she can flirt with him. This hilarious role reversal signals that it is time for the Egungun to return to the other world.
Object number2001.38
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]).
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Disguise: Masks and Global African Art, June 18 - Sept. 7, 2015 (Los Angeles, California, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Oct. 18, 2015 - Mar. 13, 2016; Brooklyn, New York, Brooklyn Museum, Apr. 29 - Sept. 18, 2016).
Credit LineGeneral Acquisition Fund
DimensionsSeated, approx.: 58 x 42 x 23 in.
Necklace: 16 x 9 x 1"
Doll: 67 x 15 x 4"
Mask/headdress: 19 x 10 1/2 x 5"
Gloves: 9 x 7"
Breast plate: 67 x 27 x 4"
Pants: 38 x 22"
Cloth: 44 x 74"
Shirt: 55 x 22"
Cloth: 28 x 80"
Cloth: 19 x 74"
MediumCotton and silk cloth, string, beads, amulets of velvet and leather, wood, commercial gardening gloves, and metal ornaments
Japanese
19th century
Object number: 89.123
Object number: 81.17.1517
Object number: 2000.14.11
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