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Igbo. <em>Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)</em>, early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_threequarter_PS1.jpg)
Igbo. Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo), early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_threequarter_PS1.jpg)
Igbo. <em>Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)</em>, early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_threequarter_PS1.jpg)

Igbo. Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo), early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_threequarter_PS1.jpg)

Igbo. <em>Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)</em>, early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.215_print_front_bw.jpg)

Igbo. Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo), early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.215_print_front_bw.jpg)

Igbo. <em>Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)</em>, early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_profile_edited_version_SL1.jpg)

Igbo. Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo), early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_profile_edited_version_SL1.jpg)

Igbo. <em>Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)</em>, early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.215_print_side_bw.jpg)

Igbo. Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo), early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.215_print_side_bw.jpg)

Igbo. <em>Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)</em>, early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.215_print_threequarter_back_bw.jpg)

Igbo. Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo), early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.87.215_print_threequarter_back_bw.jpg)

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Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)

Arts of Africa

Agbogho mmwo, or "maiden spirit," masks are worn by men at festivals that honor important deities. They represent the Igbo ideal of female beauty: small, balanced features, elaborate hairstyles, and delicate tattoos. The men who dance agbogho mmwo masks wear colorful, tight-fitting fiber costumes, entertaining the crowd with exaggerated versions of women's dances.

CULTURE Igbo
MEDIUM Wood, pigment, string
  • Place Made: Nigeria
    • DATES early 20th century
    DIMENSIONS 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa
    ACCESSION NUMBER 87.215
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Helmet mask with long narrow face, painted white; narrow protruding sharp nose; slit eyes; open mouth showing teeth; small ears. Arching eyebrows, sides of nose, lips, and rectangular ridged decorarions in center of forehead and in front of each ear are all painted brown. Linear and spiral carving on helmet portion of headdress, also painted brown. Above this is an elaborate openwork construction in brown and white, with a tall central ridge surmounted by discs and cup-like projections, flanked by a double-volute and fretwork form on eac side. The double-volute forms are decorated with incised triangles. CONDITION: A series of small holes borders the face and helmet portion, some remnants of string are threaded through them. Sticky black pieces of tape inside the mask, in back of eyes, mouth, especially at edges. Some areas of possible insect damage. Marks of water damage on forehead.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Igbo. Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo), early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_threequarter_PS1.jpg)
    IMAGE threequarter, 87.215_threequarter_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
    Igbo. <em>Maiden Spirit Helmet Mask (Agbogho Mmwo)</em>, early 20th century. Wood, pigment, string, 19 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 12 in. (50.2 x 14.6 x 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Marc and Ruth Franklin in memory of Lillian S. Korzenik, 87.215. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 87.215_threequarter_PS1.jpg)

    TAGS

    Agbogho mmwo
    crest
    face
    Feminine Beauty
    Igbo
    mask
    Masquerade
    Nigeria
    Nupe
    wood

    TAGS

    Agbogho mmwo
    crest
    face
    Feminine Beauty
    Igbo
    mask
    Masquerade
    Nigeria
    Nupe
    wood

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