Igbo Agbogo Mwo mask
€750.00
Important Igbo Agbogho Mmuo mask, also spelled Agbogo Mwo, from southeastern Nigeria. The elongated face, covered with light pigment, displays refined features that contrast dramatically with the impressive architectural coiffure rising above the head. Several openwork arches decorated with circular projections and carved elements create an exceptionally sculptural silhouette.
Agbogho Mmuo masks, associated with the concept of the “maiden spirit,” embody an idealised vision of feminine beauty in Igbo culture: refined features, a light-coloured complexion, elegance and controlled behaviour. Despite representing female spirits, these masks were traditionally worn and danced by men during community masquerades. The white coloration of the face, often obtained with light materials such as kaolin, also refers to the ancestral and spiritual realm.
Such masquerades could appear during seasonal festivals, community celebrations and funerary ceremonies, where masks helped mediate symbolically between the living and the world of the ancestors. Within Igbo masking traditions, graceful female imagery could be contrasted with more powerful or unsettling male figures, expressing complementary aspects of social and spiritual order.
On this example, the monumentality of the superstructure creates a striking contrast with the calm expression of the white face. The large openwork arches, circular projections and lateral carved motifs transform the coiffure into a remarkable sculptural construction, illustrating the extraordinary inventiveness of Igbo masking traditions.
Custom-made display stand included free of charge.
This piece comes from the exceptional collection of Sylvia and Henry Gygax—a Belgian-Swiss couple who traveled extensively, primarily in West Africa, during the 1980s and 1990s, and who were well-known within the Brussels market at that time.
The costume that accompanies the mask is also available; please contact us if you are interested.
Shipping fees
02745
Data sheet
- Presumed dating
- Circa 1970
- Size
- 45 cm (61 cm with support)
- Ethnic group
- Material(s)
- Wood, kaolin
- Country
- Origin
- Gygax collection, Switzerland / Belgium
- Stand
- Included
- Condition
- Very good
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Important Igbo Agbogho Mmuo mask, also spelled Agbogo Mwo, from southeastern Nigeria. The elongated face, covered with light pigment, displays refined features that contrast dramatically with the impressive architectural coiffure rising above the head. Several openwork arches decorated with circular projections and carved elements create an exceptionally sculptural silhouette.
Agbogho Mmuo masks, associated with the concept of the “maiden spirit,” embody an idealised vision of feminine beauty in Igbo culture: refined features, a light-coloured complexion, elegance and controlled behaviour. Despite representing female spirits, these masks were traditionally worn and danced by men during community masquerades. The white coloration of the face, often obtained with light materials such as kaolin, also refers to the ancestral and spiritual realm.
Such masquerades could appear during seasonal festivals, community celebrations and funerary ceremonies, where masks helped mediate symbolically between the living and the world of the ancestors. Within Igbo masking traditions, graceful female imagery could be contrasted with more powerful or unsettling male figures, expressing complementary aspects of social and spiritual order.
On this example, the monumentality of the superstructure creates a striking contrast with the calm expression of the white face. The large openwork arches, circular projections and lateral carved motifs transform the coiffure into a remarkable sculptural construction, illustrating the extraordinary inventiveness of Igbo masking traditions.
Custom-made display stand included free of charge.
This piece comes from the exceptional collection of Sylvia and Henry Gygax—a Belgian-Swiss couple who traveled extensively, primarily in West Africa, during the 1980s and 1990s, and who were well-known within the Brussels market at that time.
The costume that accompanies the mask is also available; please contact us if you are interested.