Egungun Masquerade Costume
African Art

Egungun Masquerade Costume
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Yoruba Artist, Oyo, Nigeria
Date
eighteenth–twentieth century (exterior velvet panels: 1750–1850)
Medium
Cloth, cowrie shells, and wood
Accession #
2002.2
Dimensions
86 x 50 inches
Location
On View - Stent Family Wing, Skyway, Gallery 401
Description
In Yoruba communities, ancestors are described as “beings from beyond,” fittingly personified by otherworldly Egungun masks such as this one. These masks are worn at annual street festivals held in honor of the ancestor of a city’s founding lineages. Each of the mask’s material components has meaning. The outer layers are made from imported velvets to convey social prestige through the display of luxurious cloth. The inner layers are made of indigo-dyed, handspun cotton cloth. Cowrie shells, used in Ifa divination and in the past as a form of currency, cascade profusely.