Accession No
2014.295
Description
Wooden mask, features decorated with pigment. White face, red lips and eyes and black carved hair. Metal hook on top of hairstyle, back section of hair broken and missing.
Place
Africa; West Africa; Nigeria; Ubomini
Period
Source
Jones, Gwilym Iwan 'G.I.' [field collector]; Jones, Ursula [vendor]
Department
Anth
Reference Numbers
2014.295
Cultural Affliation
Igbo
Material
Wood; Pigment
Local Term
Measurements
130mm x 75mm x 200mm
Events
Context (CMS Context)
White square label in the mask's interior reads [in blur ballpoint manuscript]: 'Ibo/ubomini'.
Event Date 4/6/2014
Author: Remke van der Velden
Context (CMS Context)
Publications by G.I. Jones: Jones, G. I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.
Jones, G. I., 1989. Ibo Art. Shire Ethnography. Shire Publications.
Event Date 4/6/2014
Author: Remke van der Velden
Context (CMS Context)
Gwilyam Iwan 'G.I.' Jones (1904 - 1995) was a colonial officer in southern Nigeria from 1926 to 1946, before becoming Lecturer in Social Anthropology at Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College. He undertook further periods of fieldwork and published major books on southern Nigeria that are still highly regarded for their sensitivity to historical complexity.
For more than twenty years, MAA has cared for Jones’ exceptionally rich photographic archive, which documents the great masquerade traditions and other aspects of the culture of the region. In February 2013 the Museum acquired part of Jones’ personal collection of artefacts, assembled over the decades he worked in Igboland, the Cross River and other regions. The group of masks, carvings and other works represent vital aspects of belief, history and art over the middle twentieth century.
The G.I. Jones collection of West African material was purchased on February 1 2014 from his widow Ursula Jones who generously allowed MAA to select from G.I.’s personal collection in her home. Purchase funded partly through donations by Jesus College, John Goodliffe, Margaret Risbeth and the Wenbam Smith Family (as of June 3 2014).
Event Date 4/6/2014
Author: maa
Description (Physical description)
Wooden mask with white face, red lips and inner eyelids and elaborate hair.Several signs of non-insect damage in on the coiffure. Metal eye-hook on top of hairstyle towards the back for display purposes, probably not original to the piece. Condition: Good.
Event Date 4/6/2014
Author: maa
Description (Physical description)
Wooden mask, features decorated with pigment. White face, red lips and eyes and black carved hair. Metal hook on top of hairstyle, back section of hair broken and missing.
Event Date 23/9/2021
Author: Louise Puckett
FM:267693
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