GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This headdress demonstrates Yoruba idealized naturalism: youthful beauty and a calm and composed expression on a symmetrical face. The sculptor carefully carved the hairstyle with five striated mounds, which represent braids rising above a wide band of artfully arranged hair. Although the eyes are pierced, the headdress was worn on top of the head. Ere Gelede are usually carved in pairs and painted with vibrant colors that have to be periodically refreshed. Male dancers entertain while wearing them with colorful costumes that relate to the human or animal character depicted on the mask.
This headdress was worn in annual Gelede society festivals that entertain female deities and elderly women and encourage them to use their mysterious and formidable spiritual powers for the good of the community. In this extraordinary headdress, which was originally painted with natural pigments, a masterful, imaginative sculptor conveys women’s covert spiritual powers and their external beauty.
Excerpt from
Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
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RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Late 19th century: British colonial collection
n.d.: Herbert Reiser, London [1]
1950s-2006: Pierre Verité family, Paris [2]
2006: Alain de Monbrison, Paris [3]
2011: Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund and The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, purchased from Joel Cooner Gallery, Dallas, Texas
[1] This appears on "Invoice" from Joel Cooner Gallery dated May 19, 2011. This collector is not listed on the document "For Purchase Consideration" dated May 9, 2011. Both documents are in the Collections Records object file.
[2] Could be as early as 1940s. Documents noted above have conflicting dates.
[3] See "Acquisition Proposal" in Collections Records object file.
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apply to objects where number equals 2011.23
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General Description
This headdress demonstrates Yoruba idealized naturalism: youthful beauty and a calm and composed expression on a symmetrical face. The sculptor carefully carved the hairstyle with five striated mounds, which represent braids rising above a wide band of artfully arranged hair. Although the eyes are pierced, the headdress was worn on top of the head. Ere Gelede are usually carved in pairs and painted with vibrant colors that have to be periodically refreshed. Male dancers entertain while wearing them with colorful costumes that relate to the human or animal character depicted on the mask.
This headdress was worn in annual Gelede society festivals that entertain female deities and elderly women and encourage them to use their mysterious and formidable spiritual powers for the good of the community. In this extraordinary headdress, which was originally painted with natural pigments, a masterful, imaginative sculptor conveys women’s covert spiritual powers and their external beauty.
Excerpt from
Roslyn A. Walker, Label text, Arts of Africa, 2015.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Late 19th century: British colonial collection
n.d.: Herbert Reiser, London [1]
1950s-2006: Pierre Verité family, Paris [2]
2006: Alain de Monbrison, Paris [3]
2011: Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund and The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, purchased from Joel Cooner Gallery, Dallas, Texas
[1] This appears on "Invoice" from Joel Cooner Gallery dated May 19, 2011. This collector is not listed on the document "For Purchase Consideration" dated May 9, 2011. Both documents are in the Collections Records object file.
[2] Could be as early as 1940s. Documents noted above have conflicting dates.
[3] See "Acquisition Proposal" in Collections Records object file.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
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Objects
number
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2011.23
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object_notes_4_a-0323.xml.nores