Browse Items (43 total)

A "Gelede" mask honors the power of the female forces in the cosmos, especially elderly women. The mask is worn during dancing, singing and drumming. The festival atmosphere encourages women to use their power to promote the well-being of their…

This kneeling woman is wearing a necklace with a pendant, has coffee bean eyes and beautifully carved and elaborate hair, colored with bluing. There is a baby on her back. The figure is made of carved wood with a dark brown patina with blue pigment.…

A cylindrical figure, like this example, has an upturned nose—one of its distinctive features. Objects of this type are thought to be used by the diviner in ceremonies of protection and fertility. Such a figure can be multifunctional in its capacity…

This small shoulder mask has a simple, small-featured face with elephant-like ears. The long straight neck is wrapped with indigenous rope. There are pierced holes around the outer edges of the base for attaching raffia. The mask is made of carved…

This male figure with a rounded belly has rings around his neck, arms, waist and ankles and has an open hole in his back for inserting one-of-a-kind object is hand-made terra cotta with a dark brown vegetable patina and red camwood powder accents.

This male figure is posed like a wrestler, with rings around his neck, wrist, waist and ankles. There is an opening at the base of the neck between the shoulder blades for inserting herbal medicines. This hand-made terra cotta has a dark brown…

This mask of a human face has a bird sitting on his forehead, leaning down with wings outstretched. A pair of animal horns are on either side of the face, and long whiskers descend from the mouth. This is one-of-a-kind bronze created by lost wax…

Fly whisk features two elephants with their trunks entwined around a tree. The center shaft is missing the blue indigenous fabric for shooing away flies. It is made of carved wood with brown patina and 24K red gold leaf.

This human face, probably a female, has accents on the eyelid area, ears and lips using dark brown-black vegetable pigment. On top of the mask is an unusual pair of breast-like forms. The mask is made of carved wood with fine aged encrusted dark…

This young female figure has a long neck, a well-carved hair style and a long torso. It has simple block hands and portions of both feet are missing. The figure carved wood with a deep rich red brown aged patina.