© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University

ClassificationsAfrican Art

Helmet Mask

Place CreatedOgoja, Nigeria, Africa

CultureUkelle

Datemid 20th Century

MediumWood, leather, paint, pigments

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions27 1/8 in. (68.9 cm)

Object number1994.004.686

Label TextThis white faced helmet mask with complex superstructure is possibly the work of Ukelle artist Thomas Lukpata. Lukpata lived and worked in the Ogoja region, home to several mixed-ethnic groups that were formed as a result of a long history of local conflicts and migrations from the south. These ethnic integrations led to the sharing and exchange of mask carving styles and forms as reflected in this mask. The helmet form, the concentric target marks on the temples, the hairstyle, and the use of leather to cover the face of the small female on the superstructure are typical of Ejagham, Boki, and other Cross River art styles found to the south of Ogoja. But the white face and the addition of a complex tableau, here featuring an African woman and two male colonial officials are typical of Igbo masks like the "maiden spirit" masks made further to the west of Ogoja.

Exhibition HistoryThree Rivers of Nigeria: Art of the Lower Niger, Cross, and Benue from the Collection of William and Robert Arnett, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, 1978
Art of Nigeria from the William S. Arnett Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, October 15, 1994 - January 2, 1995
Published ReferencesMarcilene K. Wittmer and William Arnett, Three Rivers of Nigeria: Art of the Lower Niger, Cross and Benue (Atlanta: The High Museum of Art, 1978), 77, number 181.

ProvenanceEx coll. William S. Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia, by 1978.

Status

Not on view

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