Context (CMS Context)
Mask numbered in interior [in white ink]: '91'.
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).
Featured in Jones, G.I., 1984. The Art of Eastern Nigeria. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press. P.188.
Event Date 4/6/2014
Author: maa

Description (Physical description)
Wooden mask with moveable jaw. Traces of white pigment on face with black pigmented features and elaborate hairstyle. Two oblong shaped ears with holes pierced through. Holes all along the edge of the mask. Jaw tied to face with vegetable fibre. Several wooden sticks inside the mask form the teeth, visible when jaw is opened. Several abrasions visible on nose and hairstyle. Condition: Good.
Event Date 4/6/2014
Author: maa