작품 상세

Mumuye Mask Nigeria Wood and white pigment - 17 x 35 cm Provenance: Pace Gallery, New York Michel Leiris collection, Paris Private collection, Belgium Masks of the Benue river area are typically abstract and schematic. They are used during the Vabong ceremony, which constitutes the fifth phase of one of the Mumuye initiation rituals. During the Vabong, masks representing both male and female spirits were brought out as a signal for the initiates to perform ceremonial whipping.