Headdress (Idoma)
Headdress
Attribution follows a published museum catalogue or peer-reviewed scholarship. Object is held in a public collection under a published accession number.
This was used in masked performances of the Agrinya society, a powerful guild formerly restricted to men who had killed an elephant, lion, or man. The white pigment connotes the realm of the ancestors, while the aggressive expression of the face seems to suggest the courage of Agrinya society members.
Catalogued by Cleveland Museum of Art as “Headdress”, dated early 1900s. Harvested from the museum’s open-access record; every field below is copied from that record and none of it has been inferred.
Record
| People / culture | Idoma |
|---|---|
| Country | Nigeria |
| Common name | Headdress |
| Form category | Headdress or crest worn atop the head |
| Materials | Wood, human hair, paint, and possibly kaolin |
| Dimensions | Overall: 20.4 x 17.8 x 16.2 cm (8 1/16 x 7 x 6 3/8 in.) |
Provenance
M. Sainsbury, Bath (?–1964)
The Cleveland Museum of Art by purchase (1964–)
| Collection | Cleveland Museum of Art |
|---|---|
| Accession number | 1964.444 |
Source
https://clevelandart.org/art/1964.444
This record is a catalogue entry, not an appraisal, valuation or legal determination. Nothing here should be read as evidence that an object was lawfully acquired or exported.