id:			148171
accession number:	1975.168.1
share license status:	Copyrighted
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.168.1
updated:		2023-01-11 04:01:11.631000

Mask, c. 1945–1950. Duga of Mẹkọ (Nigerian, Yorùbá peoples, 1880–1960). Wood and paint; overall: 77.7 cm (30 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Katherine C. White 1975.168.1

title:				Mask
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1945–1950
creation date earliest:		1945
creation date latest:		1950
current location:		108A Sub-Saharan
creditline:			Gift of Katherine C. White
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, West Africa, Nigeria, Yorùbá peoples
technique:	Wood and paint
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Mask
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Duga of Mẹkọ (Nigerian, Yorùbá peoples, 1880–1960)  - artist

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measurements: Overall: 77.7 cm (30 9/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Arts of Africa: Gallery Rotation (African art rotation)
	opening date:   2021-12-10T05:00:00
	<i>Arts of Africa: Gallery Rotation (African art rotation)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (December 10, 2021-July 2, 2023).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* CMA 1976: "Year in Review 1975," Bulletin LXIII (February 1976), p. 65, no. 18.A <br>CMA 1986:  Possessors of Power:  African Masks and Sculpture, January 28-March 23, 1986; The Beachwood Museum, April 2-30, 1986.

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PROVENANCE

	Katherine C. White [1929-1980], Gates Mills, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 1975
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1975–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Duga received a kind of "scholarship" for his apprenticeship with a master carver in Ketu. The Gẹ̀lẹ̀dé society paid for his training in exchange for masks he later carved for them.

digital description:


wall description:
Men in the Gẹ̀lẹ̀dé society performed paired masks like these during annual masquerades honoring Ìyá Nlá (Great Mother). The event demonstrates respect for motherhood and female power within a male-dominated society. These gẹ̀lẹ̀dé masks depict idealized “beautiful maidens” with crocodiles perched atop their head ties. Such dangerous reptiles were linked to witches and the thunder god; their jointed tails swung realistically during performance. Multiple paint layers show how these masks were repainted to keep them looking fresh. Masks like these gained Duga his reputation as Mẹkọ’s best sculptor and a noted early 20th-century Yorùbá artist.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES