Mask

This huge and heavy mask, on loan to the MIA, comes from Nigeria; but we do not know for certain which people made it, what it was used for, or how it had been carried or displayed. Standing nearly three and a half feet tall, the mask is carved from wood, and the moustache is composed of fiber and possibly hair. The mask's owner acquired it in Sokoto, a city in northwestern Nigeria. He was told it had been used in fertility ceremonies by the Tiv people, who live in the central-southern part of the country. A small image of a very similar mask was published in a catalogue on southeastern Nigerian art (pictured). Attributed to the Obolo people, it is said to represent death in local festivals. In light of all these uncertainties, a picture of this mask is now posted online on a scholarly Internet forum. Through this forum, experts in African art worldwide are invited to contribute their knowledge about this object. As the comments come in, the results will be posted both on the MIA's Web site and in this gallery.