Itrokwu Society Mask

Place CreatedNigeria, Africa

CultureIdoma, Akpa District, Otobi village

Datemid 20th Century

MediumWood, pigment, paint

Credit LineGift of Toby and Barry Hecht

Dimensions62 x 17 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (157.5 x 44.5 x 26.7 cm)

Object number2005.067.001

Label TextItrokwu, a massive horizontal mask in the shape of an elephant, is called the "king of mask spirits" by its owners, the immigrant Ekpari clan in central Idomaland, Nigeria. It is found in only Ekpari-ruled villages and its royal status is indicated by its great size and imagery -- the elephant as metaphor of power to rule. The destructive power of the elephant is linked with the spiritual power of the king. This metaphor is played out in the performance of the masquerade. A high degree of tension is generated by the appearance of the mask in public, as Itrokwu wrecks havoc upon its audience by knocking over anything in its path. The mask's royal status is also indicated by its accoutrements, seen in the photograph to the left: its own stool carried by an attendant so the mask can "rest," and its costume of indigo-dyed burial cloth.

The sculptor, Oba of Otobi village, carved at least three of these masks between the 1930s and 1950s. One entered the Nigerian Jos Museum in 1958, a second was photographed in Otobi village in the 1970s and is now in the Quai Bramly Museum, Paris. The Michael C. Carlos Museum's mask is very similar but also includes figures carved in relief including the leopard, another symbol of kingship. The bird peaking at the crocodile's eye probably illustrates a proverb about power.
Exhibition HistoryDivine Intervention: African Art and Religion, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - December 4, 2011
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, March - May 2006.
Marla C. Berns, et al., Central Nigeria Unmasked: Arts of the Benue River Valley (Los Angeles: Fowler Museum at UCLA, 2011), 82, figure 2.51.

ProvenanceEx coll. Toby and Barry Hecht, Maryland.

Status

Not on view

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