This exhibit includes a variety of 20th century masks from cultures in Western Coastal and Central Africa, including masks of the Ijo, Igbo, Ibibio, and Yoruba cultures from Nigeria, along with masks of the Kuba culture from Democratic Republic of Congo. Artists of these cultures carved the masks from wood and painted them to depict figures with human-like physical … [Read more...] about African Masks and Headdresses: Researched by Katie Kimbrough
The Igbo men of Nigeria create Isiji initiation masks with a wooden frame to form the tall upper section and a calabash gourd to form the face mask. The frame is tightly wound and tied with raffia rope and fibers, and more raffia is braided and tied around the edges of the mask to form a border and side loops. The mask is painted with red, black, white, and yellow mineral … [Read more...] about An Isiji Initiation Mask: Researched and Conserved by Earlene Elliot-Lee