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Mask

Culture Igbo
Title Mask (Isi Mwuo)
Date Late 19th–early 20th century
Medium Wood and pigment
Dimensions Object: 12 13/16 × 7 5/16 × 5 1/8 in. (32.5 × 18.6 × 13 cm)
Overall (includes mount): 15 15/16 × 7 1/8 × 6 5/8 in. (40.5 × 18.1 × 16.8 cm)
Credit Line Gift of Frederick Stafford, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 59.39

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About this Work

Traditionally representing spirits, Igbo masks have a great variety of forms and appear under a variety of circumstances, though today most performances are for secular entertainment. The Igbo associate the color white with goodness, purity, and the spiritual realm, and generally masks with white faces and refined, delicate features represent good, beautiful spirits. On the other hand, dark masks with larger, cruder features and, frequently, references to animals, refer to ugly, bad spirits. The black vertical lines in relief across the mask’s forehead represents ichi, a scarification pattern mostly—though not exclusively—associated with men of high status.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

February 11–March 1, 1974, "Interaction: the Art Styles of the Benue River Valley and East Nigeria," Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

August 31–October 1, 1973, "African Art Exhibition," Humanities Center Gallery, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN

February 18–February 28, 1971, "African Art Exhibition," Hopkins Hall Gallery, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

May 1971, Indiana University Memorial Union, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

October 27–29, 1966, "Four African Exhibits," Fine Arts Museum, Indiana University, Bloomington

1965, Herron Museum, Indianapolis, IN

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"Mask | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=59.39