Headdress (Igi Gelede)

YorubaWW-1900-128424

1900·Wood and pigment·44.5 × 44.5 × 47 cm (17 1/2 × 17 1/2 × 18 1/2 in.)

<p>This dynamic mask of the <em>gelede</em> type depicts two hunters wrestling with a pangolin (or scaly anteater), representing the struggle between civilization and nature, human intelligence and animal force. The figures are shown grabbing the mammal by its back legs but also seem to be losing their balance and giving the pangolin a chance to escape. The dramatic tension of this mask’s upper section presents a sharp contrast to the serene human face below.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1900
Medium: Wood and pigment
Dimensions: 44.5 × 44.5 × 47 cm (17 1/2 × 17 1/2 × 18 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Yoruba

Artist

Yoruba

Textile

Yoruba is an Atlantic–Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. Yoruba speakers number roughly 50 million, including around 2 million second-language or L2 speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia.

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