Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE D: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Female Dance Headdress from Cross River region, Nigeria or Cameroon
Image View:
Overall three-quarter view from front left
Creator:
unknown (Nigerian artist)
Location:
exhibition: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Montréal, Québec, Canada)
Location Note:
From Africa to the Americas: Face-to-Face Picasso, Past and Present (2018 exhibition)
Date:
20th century (creation)
Cultural Context:
Nigerian; West African (general)
Style Period:
Ejagham
Work Type 1:
headdress
Work Type 2:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
antelope leather; wood; rattan
Technique:
carving (processes); construction (assembling)
Subjects:
decorative arts; recreation and games; festivals; dance; ceremonial; ceremonies
Description:
Work is from a private collection (Lune Rouge Collection, Montreal). Headdresses covered in leather, like this elegant depiction of a beautiful young woman with an elaborate coiffure, are created in the region along the Cross River in Nigeria and Cameroon. This particular example was made by the Ejagham peoples and is characteristic of a genre popular across the region. Some are startlingly naturalistic and may be portraits of known individuals; others are highly stylized. There are three overall types: helmet masks that cover the wearer's head entirely, masks that cover only the face, and headdresses that, like this one, are attached to basketry caps worn on top of the head. (Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art [website]; http://www.metmuseum .org)
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module D: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-AFRICAN-FAFFM-FD H-A02
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Female Dance Headdress from Cross River region, Nigeria or Cameroon