Yoruba Gelede Mask, Benin

Acquired in Nigeria in the 1970s
Private European Collection

Good condition for an object of this type and age. Marks, nicks, scratches, and abrasions consistent with age and use. Areas of old insect damage around hairline and in coiffure. Flaking and chipping to paint on proper right eye, top lip and scarification on right cheek. Minor age cracks including one to proper right side of mask. Scratches and chipping around holes for attachment. Edge of proper left ear broken and glued. Fine aged surface with multiple layers of oxidized paint. Fine aged dark grey-brown surface inside.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The offered lot closely relates to a group of exquisite Yoruba gelede masks which all seem to have been created in Western Yorubaland, in today's Republic of Benin.  Apart from a series of common features including the overall proportions, fullness of the cheeks, rendering of the nose and ears and the slightly raised corners of the mouth, the most distinctive attribute of these masks is their seemingly contemplative gaze.  In his discussion of one of the masks from this group which is featured on the cover of the monograph Yoruba Sculpture of West Africa by William Fagg and John Pemberton III, the latter (in Fagg and Pemberton 1982: 192) notes: "It is the eyes that engage and hold our attention.  They gaze from a composed face, whose features are those of a mature young mother.  The lips are gently compressed.  The marks of culturally defined beauty appear on brow and cheek, and in the highly stylized coiffure. [...] As one continues to look on the face, the coolness and purity that one first saw, and continues to see becomes chilling.  The gaze, intense and constant, begins to claw at the imagination. The viewer finds himself being viewed. One is a-look-looked at, incapable of withdrawing from the gaze. Apprehension rises about the mother, about the power of women."

See also a pair of Ibeji twin figures acquired in 1854 by the British Museum, London (Fagg and Pemberton 1982: 16, fig. 7) and for hairstyle and facial scarification another gelede mask, also in the British Museum, London (ibid.: 18, fig. 11).