Head Crest
| Culture | Idoma |
|---|---|
| Culture | Cross River |
| Title | Head Crest (Ungulali) |
| Date | Unknown |
| Medium | Wood, pigment, and and nails |
| Dimensions | Object: 12 1/2 × 6 7/8 × 9 in. (31.8 × 17.5 × 22.9 cm) Overall: 12 1/2 × 6 7/8 × 9 in. (31.8 × 17.5 × 22.9 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 73.55.1 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
Headdress with two vertically stacked heads; the larger head has two faces on opposite sides, with earrings dangling at the side (shared between the two faces) and horns emerging from the side of the head and curving upward. There is a smaller head, also with two faces, atop the main head, between the main head's horns.
Worn on top of the head, this crest mask is associated with agricultural festivals, Christmas plays, and funerals. Its local name, ungulali, means "flute," a reference to the flute music that announces the entrance of the dancer wearing the crest.
Based on a similar multi-faced crest collected in 1958 from the family of an Idoma carver by Africanist art historian Roy Sieber, this crest and others like it have generally been identified as Idoma. However, recent research by Sidney Littlefield Kasfir, an expert on Idoma art, suggests instead that such crests either originated in the Cross River or were carved by a Cross River sculptor who had moved north and settled in the Idoma area.
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.
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Cite this page
"Head Crest | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=73.55.1