ClassificationsAfrican Art

Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask, Agbogho Mmuo

Place CreatedNigeria, Africa

CultureIgbo, northern

Datelate 19th-early 20th Century

MediumWood, pigment

Credit LineEx coll. William S. Arnett

Dimensions13 3/4 x 7 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (34.9 x 20 x 20 cm)

Object number1994.004.633

Label TextMaiden spirit (agbogho mmuo) masquerades perform annually during the dry season in the Nri-Awka area of northern Igboland. At these performances men dance as adolescent girls, miming and exaggerating their beauty and comportment.

They also sing tributes to both real and spirit maidens:

Mmanwu si n'igwe Masked Spirit from the sky
Udemu na lenu My fame is potent

These masks exaggerate the smallness of a young girl's ideal features while the whiteness of her complexion is likened to "the purity of white chalk," a substance used for ritually marking the body in both West Africa and the African Diaspora. The white pigment also serves as a ground for the elaborate uli decorations painted on young Igbo women's skin. Some maiden spirit masks, such as this one, have elaborate coiffures, embellished with representations of hair combs modeled after late nineteenth century ceremonial hairstyles.
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
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, Rotation 2, February 1997 - July 1998
MCCM Permanent Collection Installation, July 19, 2003 - March 13, 2007
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), 21, number 42.
Michael C. Carlos Museum Handbook (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 1996), 102.

ProvenanceEx coll. William S. Arnett (1939-2020), Atlanta, Georgia, from at least 1978.

Status

Not on view

Collections