Lot: 170

92nd Tribal Art Auction

Helmet mask "gelede"

Benin / Nigeria, Ketu, Yoruba

Provenance Size Starting price / estimated price
Robert Duperrier, Paris, France (1984)
Jan Lundberg, Malmö, Sweden (1986)
H: 15 inch This object is not available anymore.

wood, pigment remains, carved with european hat and two sheathed knives

Masks like this are worn by men in elaborate masquerade performances known as "gelede." They have been described as real spectacles with an enormous variety of headdresses and costumes. They take place every year between march and may at the beginning of the new planting season.


Lawal, Babatunde, The Gèlèdé Spectacle, Seattle, London 1996, p. 202, ill. 7.13
Afrikanskt / African Art, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö1986, p. 79, cat. 91